171. The Great Faith Of An Unlikely Soldier Led To An Amazing Healing. Sermon on Luke 7:1-10

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Sometimes we think that certain people would have “great faith”. We might think of some people who have been going to church for ages and have been involved in Christian activities for years. I discovered though that as the words of one song put it, “It ain’t necessarily so!”

I had been converted to Christ at the age of 23 mainly through reading the Bible. I had discovered the truth about Jesus the Son of God who died for me on the cross so I could be forgiven. And that He rose again to give me new life. So I began to go regularly to church as an adult and a believer. I was soon amazed that many present did not really read the Bible regularly when it had come so alive to me as I read it, I expected to find people with a magnificent obsession for Jesus who were filled with faith for God to do anything. Indeed there were a wonderful few like that but not many.

In New Testament times one would have thought that the Religious leaders of the day would have embraced Jesus as their Messiah as He fulfilled so many of the Jewish prophecies about the Messiah. But the majority rejected Him.

One would also have thought that the Gentile Roman soldiers wouldn’t have had any regard for Jesus, but this Roman centurion in Luke 7 certainly did. He was a Centurion who had great faith. What was so amazing about this man and his great faith?

  1. HIS SURPRISING CHARACTER AS A PERSON

All the centurions mentioned in the New Testament were seen in a good light.

i).   He cared about people. He “highly valued” his servant. 7:2. The word can also mean “precious” or “held in high honour”. Here an inferior in society is held in high honour by someone much higher in society.

This was unusual in a day when servants and slaves had no rights and were treated like things rather than like people. They could be treated like tools to be discarded. For an important military man in charge of 100 men to care about a servant and highly value him was amazing.

ii).   He cared deeply about people. He knew his servant was sick. He also knew that he was close to death. He was moved by what he knew of the man’s situation. He was moved deeply enough to do something about it.

  1. HIS SURPRISING FAITH AS A CENTURION

i).   He responded to what He had knew about Jesus. 7:3.

The Religious Leaders at the time were listening to Him that they might trap Him in some way, to get rid of Him.

This Roman soldier by contrast was willing to approach Jesus for help. The Bible says that when the centurion heard about Jesus he acted on what he had heard. If Jesus had healed people then the centurion was interested in getting healing for his servant..

ii).     He was humble enough to ask for help. 7:3-4.

The servant was already at the point of death when the centurion sent some of his friends who were Jewish elders to get Jesus to come to his home to heal his servant.

He believed Jesus could do something about a near dead man. He humbled himself to ask for help.  He was used to commanding with authority. Now he was humbling himself to ask for healing for his servant.

iii).  He was committed to the God of Israel. 7:4-5.

7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.”

He loved the Jewish people. That was amazing for a Gentile man when even then there was so much antagonism towards the Jewish people.

He honoured Yahweh, the God of Israel. He wanted Him to be known and worshipped.

He had even built a synagogue for the people of God.  He made sure that this worship was possible by building their synagogue where the Jews could meet.

Again this was part of his attitude in seeing the needs of others and doing something about them.

iv).  He had faith in the CHARACTER of Jesus to believe He would be willing to help his servant.

He believed that Jesus would not refuse his request for help. He would have known that up to this time Jesus had not refused to help those who asked for His help. It was worthwhile getting the Jewish elders to go to get Jesus. He was sure Jesus would help.

v).  He had faith in the POWER of Jesus to heal the servant.

It was an extreme case. When he sent the Jewish elders the sick man had been at the point of death. But that didn’t deter him from asking Jesus to come. He believed Jesus would meet any challenge that faced Him because he believed that God was with Jesus in what He was doing.

vi).  He combined personal humility and confident faith. 7:6-7

Jesus actually began to go to the centurion’s home to heal the sick man. Something made the centurion reconsider what he had asked of Jesus. He had asked a Jewish teacher to enter his home, the home of a gentile, when that was forbidden by the Jewish authorities. So he sent other friends to meet Jesus with an incredible statement. .” 6 … “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.7Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

In other words he recognised the power of words coming from someone in authority. As a Roman centurion he could issue a command from “here” and it would happen “out there”.

There was a time in my life when I had power. I could stop a locomotive in its tracks. (Before you think “He’s 80 now. He’s losing it!” let me explain. )

I wasn’t Superman with Supernatural Strength.

I wasn’t Super-Pastor with Supernatural Faith.

Nor was it by standing on the tracks with my hand upraised saying “Stop in the name of Jim Holbeck.”

No. I could stop locomotives because I was a Senior Chemist working for the State Railways.  I had to analyse the lubricating oil of Diesel locomotives. If I found anything wrong with the oil that could cause engines to seize, I could make a phone call and say “Take that locomotive out of service” and it would be done immediately. I had the authority of the Government to ensure the protection of locomotive engines.

The Centurion realised that he (with all the authority of the Roman Empire behind him)  could cause things to happen by speaking a word. then how much more would Jesus operating under God’s authority be able to speak healing into a man at a distance. That became his new request to Jesus. “… say the word, and let my servant be healed.”

No wonder Jesus was amazed at the centurion’s faith. No one else even among His own people had exercised a simple faith like that before. The faith was rewarded as we read in verse 10, “And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.” He had been healed at a distance by the power of Jesus’ word.

C).  WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE CENTURION’S “GREAT FAITH”?

In one sense the centurion’s “great faith” was so simple. He knew that words spoken with authority accomplish what is needed. In the mind of the centurion all Jesus had to do, as God’s servant operating under His authority, was to speak the words of healing and the healing would take place. It was as simple as that. If Jesus said “Be healed! “ then the man would surely be healed.

A couple of simple definitions might help. “’Great faith’ is the simple faith that expects great things from a great God who loves and cares.”  AND

“’Great faith’ ultimately depends not on the Quantity Of Faith but on the Quality Of The Person in whom we have our faith.”

The centurion trusted Jesus to do what he asked of Him. He answered abundantly.

We too can ask of God in Jesus’ name knowing that He longs to hear the prayers of His people and to answer them. Jesus said even a tiny mustard seed sized faith can move mountains.

I saw that some years ago in a Sydney church of another denomination. A small team of us went to minister in this church on a Saturday. At the end of the final teaching session we asked people to come forward for healing. I expected just a few people to come forward because this church had not been involved in healing before. To my surprise almost all the 90 people present came forward for prayer. Again to my surprise as we began to pray, the power of God came down visibly on many people. I saw the worship leader being transformed before my eyes and from that time worship took on a new dimension in that church. One of their church elders called it “the beginning of a mini-revival” for the church.

One of the women present had been brought to the service because she could no longer drive. She had some problem with her middle ear. She couldn’t maintain her balance at all. She allowed her friends to bring her forward for prayer. I found out over a year later that on that Saturday afternoon she was healed on the spot and had been driving ever since. She stepped out with the little bit of faith she had and was gloriously healed. A few months later we went to minister in that same church again. This woman literally leapt up onto the stage to give her testimony. No balance problems! Sovereignly healed by God!

It made me wonder. What if she hadn’t accepted the loving invitation of others to be driven to the service? What if she hadn’t come forward for prayer? What if she had been upset at the demonstration of God’s power as the Spirit of God came down powerfully on a number of people and she no longer wanted to be prayed for? What I do know is that before that day no one had been able to heal her. On that day God healed her as she allowed us to pray for her.

The apostle John also affirmed the Loving Character And Power Of God, 1 John 5:14  “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will HE HEARS US. 15 And IF WE KNOW THAT HE HEARS US in whatever we ask, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE REQUESTS that we have asked of him.” Our God is a God who longs to answer prayer as we ask according to His will.

As we pray let’s ask the Lord to do in us and through us so much more than we can ever ask for in our prayers, or ever imagine, in our wildest imagination.

Blog No.171. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 20th January 2016

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170. Rebuilding What Has Broken Down In Life. (Part 2 of 2). Nehemiah Chapter 8

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

In the previous article based on chapters 1 to 7 of Nehemiah we looked at the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah. Now follows in chapters 8 to 13 the rebuilding of the people of Jerusalem in their faith in Yahweh as they are exposed to the word of God through Ezra and Nehemiah and others.

God’s word, the Bible is powerful. Just one verse or short passage can transform a human life.  Many of us have read of a young man named Augustine. He had been living a very immoral life. He once heard Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan preaching and his interest in the Bible was deepened. Sometime later, Augustine was outdoors in Milan. He heard the voice of a child singing a song, the words of which were, “Pick it up and read it. Pick it up and read it.” He thought at first the words were part of a children’s game, but he had never heard them before.

He picked up a Bible, opened it and read the first passage he saw. It was from the Letter of Paul to the Romans, chapter 13 verses 13-14, “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” As he read the words he felt he had come from darkness into light. He turned from his sinful life to follow Jesus.  Later, Augustine wrote his famous prayer: “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” He experienced a radical transformation through hearing and reading the word of God.

 In Nehemiah chapters 8-13 we read about a radical transformation that took place in Jerusalem as many people came to hear the word of God being read.  What they heard changed their whole future.  How did the transformation begin? It began as follows.

 1).    PEOPLE WANTING TO HEAR THE WORD OF GOD. (8:1-2)

(1)  And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.(2)  So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.

 WHO wanted to hear the word of God? Notice it was “they” the people, not just the leaders. It was a movement stemming from the people, not something imposed from above. And from all the people, men, women and young people who were old enough to understand.

WHY did they want to hear the word of God? It was probably because they had seen God at work in allowing them to rebuild the walls of the city in spite of great opposition. He had been faithful to them. Now they wanted to learn more about Him.

 2).    PEOPLE WANTING TO HEAR AND UNDERSTAND THE WORD OF GOD. (vs 3-7)

There’s s a big difference between simply listening to the word of God and wanting to understand it and obey it. The people were really keen to understand the word of God. (3)  “And Ezra read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.  …(6)  And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. (7)  and others too “helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.”

What a wonderful sight. A whole congregation of younger and older people longing to worship God and to hear and respond to the word of God. Absorbing Gods’ word. Absorbing, absorbing, absorbing the word of God.

I once encouraged a brand-new Christian to memorise some parts of the Bible. I had been converted only a few months before and had learnt about a dozen verses from various parts of the Bible. He was a married man with young children so I knew it wouldn’t be easy for him to spend a lot of time learning Bible verses.

I saw him again a few months later. I asked him how his memorisation of some Bible verses was going. He said, “It’s not easy is it?” I had to agree with him even though my memory list was now close to 20 verses from all over the Bible. I wasn’t prepared for what he said next. He said matter of factly, “So far I have only been able to memorise chapters 1 to 8 of Paul’s letter to the Romans.” He had. He was highly motivated to absorb and understand the word of God. I thought I was too, but his memorisation of 225 verses in order made my random 20 verses seem pretty mean. Mind you he did eventually go to Theological College and topped Australia with 1st Class Honours. That made me feel a bit better!)  But we all need to be motivated to know, absorb and to understand the word of God.

 3).    PEOPLE WANTING TO HEAR, UNDERSTAND AND SHARE THE MEANING OF THE WORD. Vs 8-12. (8)  “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” Ezra and the other leaders really wanted to share the word of God with the people. (Because the people were motivated to hear).

The result? V9,   “all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.”  They had a new appreciation for the grace of God in protecting them and helping them rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Perhaps they were convicted of their sin after realising from the word of God how they had rebelled against God. But they had begun on a new path of obedience and life would be different for them from that moment on.

It was to be a time of rejoicing and not mourning.  (9)  And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. (10)  Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

 It was a time for rejoicing in Him.   (12)  “And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.” Joy should a characteristic of every believer. V10, “the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Not God’s joy over us, though Zep 3:17 says He does rejoice over us, ”The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  Rather it is our joy in knowing Him, loving Him and serving Him in gratitude for all He has done for us.

The Westminster Shorter Confession, a statement of faith puts it like this, “The chief end of man is to worship God and to enjoy Him forever.” Are you enjoying the Lord today?

 4).    PEOPLE WANTING TO HEAR, UNDERSTAND, SHARE  AND OBEY THE WORD OF GOD. Vs 13-18.  (13)  On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.

They discovered that they were meant to be “dwelling in booths during the feast of the seventh month” (v14). Their response? (16) “ So the people went out and … made booths for themselves, …. (17)  And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so.” And the result of doing what God wanted them to do? JOY! 8:17, “And there was very great rejoicing.” (cf 8:12)

 They were motivated to absorb the truth of God from His word. (18)  And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.

 As I thought about Nehemiah the words of Jesus kept coming to me. Jesus put it like this in talking about His word, Jn 15:7-.

i).         ABIDING. Joh 15:7 “If you abide in me,”

ii).        ABSORBING. “and (you let) my words abide in you”,

iii).       ASKING IN PRAYER THAT BRINGS RESULTS. “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

iv).       ATTRACTING OTHER PEOPLE TO HIM. Joh 15:8 “ By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

 Nehemiah (and later the people he encouraged) had learned to

i).         Abide in God. Yahweh had become important to them. They wanted to know more about Him from His word.

ii).        Absorb the word of God. Nehemiah Chapter 8 has almost a progression. First they wanted to hear the word of God. They were motivated to listen to it intently as it was read to them. Then they wanted to understand the word. Then they wanted to have the word shared. Finally they wanted to put the word into practice, they wanted to obey the word of God.

iii).       Ask in prayer that brought results. They had been asking for God’s blessing and protection as they rebuilt the walls and gates of the city. He had been faithful in blessing and protecting them.

iv).       Attract other people to God.  As we saw in the last article, when God answers prayer His people get the blessing and God gets the glory. The blessing was obvious to all including their enemies around them. God got the glory as the other nations marvelled at the faithfulness and power of Yahweh the God of the Jews.

CONCLUSION:–

How do we respond to the challenge of Nehemiah? He began a year sitting down weeping about the broken down walls of Jerusalem. He could do nothing to help them except pray and hand it over to God.

He ended the year rejoicing in the city with its rebuilt walls and rejoicing with a spiritually renewed nation.  He prayed and God wonderfully used him as part of the answer.

Jesus wants a changed world.

We can’t heal it. But we can pray. He told us to pray to our Heavenly Father “May Your Kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!” Many folk have been praying earnestly but it doesn’t seem to be happening as it should be. Evil still abounds throughout the earth. Why?

It has got to become more personal. As we pray for God’s kingdom to come in power we may have in mind a noisy neighbour or a recalcitrant child. But we must pray it for ourselves as well, ie., “Lord, may Your kingdom come in me and Your will be done in me and through me.” Nehemiah prayed something like this and God answered abundantly.

Today is January 10th 2016. Already almost 3% of the year is over.  How do we respond to the challenge of Jesus in Jn 15:7-8?

How much closer have we learned to ABIDE in Jesus in that 3% of the year?

How much more of God’s word have we ABSORBED in the 3% of the year thus far?

How much more ASKING in prayer according to God’s will have we increased in that 3% of the year?

How much more ATTRACTING of people have we accomplished through our increased godliness and loving commitment to Him this year?

God began His marvellous renewal of the nation through Nehemiah as he prayed. What might He want to do through us as we pray in utter sincerity, “Lord, may Your kingdom come in me and Your will be done in me and through me.”

Blog No.170. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 14th January 2016

 

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169. Rebuilding What Has Broken Down In Life. (Part 1 of 2). Nehemiah Chapter 1

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Do you ever feel you are in a hopeless situation? That the challenges which lie before you are just too massive? You may sometimes feel as though you can’t do anything to change the situations that are causing you concern or even distress.

 We can learn a lot on how to cope with difficult situations as we look at the Old Testament story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was faced with a great problem. However we need to understand the historical situation in which he lived. So here is a one minute summary of centuries of Israelite history.

The nation of Israel was once a United Kingdom under Saul then David and then Solomon. Then in 931BC it divided into 2 kingdoms. One was the Northern Kingdom Of Israel based in Samaria. The other was the Southern Kingdom Of Judah based in Jerusalem. In 722 the Northern Kingdom Of Israel was defeated by Assyria.

However in 586 the Southern Kingdom Of Judah was defeated by Babylon and many of the inhabitants of the kingdom were taken into exile in Babylon.

In 539 Babylon was defeated by the Persian King Cyrus and the following year he allowed many of the people to return to Jerusalem. The temple was rebuilt between approximately 536 and 516.

In 458 there was a Second Return Of Exiles Under Ezra and the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt. But the work was stopped due to opposition by the surrounding peoples. .

In 445 Nehemiah hears about Jerusalem that its walls have been broken down as its gates burned with fire. This is the background to Nehemiah chapter 1.

FACING LIFE’S CHALLENGES 

When we are faced with difficult situation we can either react negatively in and unhealthy way (eg.,  (I’m a victim! Woe is me!  My life is over!) Or we can learn to respond to situations in a healthy way. (eg., I can get through this! I can cope! I can even conquer with God’s help!)

We can learn from the example of Nehemiah how to respond in a positive healthy way in difficult situations.

THE CHALLENGES THAT CAME TO NEHEMIAH.  Neh 1:1-3

He was told that the survivors in Jerusalem were “in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” He could have felt overwhelmed by the knowledge he had received. The people over there in Jerusalem were in great trouble and shame. Perhaps their enemies were saying to them something like this, “You say you belong to Yahweh the God of heaven but He hasn’t protected you. Look the walls you built are broken down and there are no gates to keep your enemies out.  It seems as though Your God can’t or won’t protect you!”

 I’m going to take you out of your suspense and tell you that God did do something about their situation. In Chapter 7 we read that the walls had been rebuilt and the gates restored.

But how did it happen? We see the answers in the life of Nehemiah. We can learn 4 lessons from his example. They are summarised below.

 How To Respond To Difficult Situations

  1. KNOWLEDGE (about those in need) should lead to COMPASSION
  2. COMPASSION (for those in need) should lead to PRAYER
  3. PRAYER (for those in need) should lead to CHANGES BY GOD
  4. CHANGES BY GOD should be twofold. a). Blessings On Those For Whom We Pray and  b).  Glory To Him

 We now look at these 4 lessons as they relate to the story of Nehemiah.

1).        THE KNOWLEDGE (about those in need) THAT LEADS TO COMPASSION

There are depths of concern that we may have as humans for those in need. It is possible for people to sympathise with others who are going through difficult times. Eg., Sympathy means “to suffer with” such as “I feel so sad for you!” We are moved to some extent but not enough to become deeply involved.

Empathy is a deeper emotion. It can mean putting yourself in the other person’s shoes and trying to imagine what they are going through. (“I feel so sad for you. It must be horrible for you. How can I help?”)

 The word “empathy” is not found in New Testament but the concept certainly is. The nearest Greek New Testament word is “compassion” the feeling that comes from deep within a person.

Nehemiah’s knowledge about the difficulties for the people in Jerusalem led to compassion on his part. Neh 1:4  “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”

He was trying to imagine what they were going through. Putting himself in their shoes.

“Weeping” because his people were going through distress and pain.

“Mourning” because they had failed to live as they should have lived as the people of God and were missing out on His blessing and protection.

“Fasting and praying”, setting aside time to bring the problem before God as there was no obvious answer to the problem in Jerusalem. (See Note 1 for an interesting connection between these words for “weeping” and “mourning” in verse 4 and the use of the same words in Neh 8:9.)

2).        THE COMPASSION (for those in need) THAT LEADS TO PRAYER

Nehemiah was deeply concerned for his people. He could have spent hours upon hours working out what God could do to bring about changes in the situation. He could have spent days wondering if there was anything he could do to help. He could have eventually panicked when he realised the situation was beyond his control.

But he did what we all must do. He handed the whole situation over to God in sincere prayer.

His compassion for the remnant “over there” in Jerusalem led him to pray compassionately for them in their need.

3)          THE PRAYER THAT BRINGS CHANGES

Notice how he prayed. He didn’t focus on the problem. He focussed on the God who could solve the problem. In our Healing Ministry in Sydney we used to hold Cancer Weekends for those with cancer and we also invited their carers. We found that the weekends were physically and emotionally draining even for the Healing Ministry team. Then we decided that we would give the first sessions over to letting the people talk about their challenge with cancer. Many of them needed to. (A lot of folk don’t know how to relate to those who have cancer and distance themselves from even their friends when the latter are diagnosed with cancer)

Then we would try to gently change the language from “Why me Lord?” to “What now, with God’s help.” We tried to introduce Christian hope for those who felt they had no hope.

We need to get the focus right as we face difficult situations! To focus on the solution and not remain focussed on the problem.

Let’s see how his prayer brought changes from God.

i).    Nehemiah Affirmed The Greatness Of God. His Character And His Steadfast Love

Neh 1:5  “And I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.”

Nehemiah’s words as he prayed expressed his belief that God was great and awesome. He could do things in His power. He was a faithful God who would always be true to His covenant promises. He would always show steadfast love to those who loved Him and showed their love in obeying Him.

 ii).        He Repented before God. He Confessed The Sin Of The People

Neh 1:6  “let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned.”

Nehemiah wasn’t being judgmental about the people of Israel. He knew they had sinned. He knew that because he knew the sinfulness of sin. He knew that he and his father’s house had also sinned against God. He confessed specifically how they had sinned. Neh 1:7 “We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.” In other words he was praying, “Lord You asked us to love you and obey you, but we didn’t! I repent before You on behalf of myself and my people!”

It’s true that the closer you draw near to the light of God the more aware you become of the darkness of sin within. The wonderful hymn “At Even E’er The Sun Was Set….” has a verse with these words, “And none, O Lord, have perfect rest, For none are wholly free from sin; And they who fain would serve Thee best , Are conscious most of wrong within.” People who are conscious of the sinfulness of the human heart are living in reality. Those who think they are almost sinless (in their own eyes) are out of touch with reality and living in denial.

 iii).       He Appealed To God’s Forgiving Nature And Promises

Neh 1:8 “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9  but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.”

The people had been unfaithful. They had been scattered as God said they would be. But God had promised that if that were to happen, He would reach out to them to restore them. Nehemiah was relying on that promise of God as he prayed for his own people in Jerusalem.

iv).       A Prayer Thanking God for hearing his prayer and for the answer He would bring. Neh 1:11 “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.”  It seems that as Nehemiah prayed, God gave him a plan because he asked God for success. The plan seemed to be dependent on the king’s willingness to allow the plan to be put into action. He was seeking God’s blessing on the plan that God had placed in His heart.

4).    THE CHANGES GOD BROUGHT IN ANSWER TO NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER

The end result? Nehemiah was allowed return to Jerusalem with the King’s blessing and help. In chapters 1-6 we see God at work through Nehemiah and the changes that followed.

What were the changes brought through prayer?

a). The people for whom Nehemiah prayed got the blessing.

The wall was finished. Neh 6:15  So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. God had given them victory. They now had rebuilt walls and new gates. They had experienced a personal demonstration of the love and power of God in enabling them to rebuild in spite of all the difficulties they faced.

b).  God got the glory. Neh 6:15  So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

 Ie., It was as though their enemies were saying, “Their God DOES exist! He DID help them. Even though we tried to stop them from rebuilding time after time, they still did it with His help. He IS faithful to them. HE IS powerful! We are so weak in comparison with Him!”

He was being glorified in the sight of their enemies.

But how about us and our challenges?

LEARNING TO COPE AND CONQUER IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS

We may not be facing the incredible challenges that Nehemiah faced. But the challenges we face are just as real to us. Are there family situations that are causing us a lot of anxiety? Are there relationship problems? Are there financial challenges? Are there health issues we are facing?

What do you do when the challenges seem to be too great to face, let alone conquer? We have to learn to respond as Nehemiah did, by turning the whole situation over to God and trusting Him to work on our behalf.

St Paul knew that truth. He wrote in Phil 4:6-7, “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 Phil 4:6-7, “Have no anxiety about anything. The knowledge we have about difficulties makes us consider all sorts of possibilities. In fact our minds can be in a twirl as we consider this possibility or that possibility. The word for “anxiety” (merimna) comes from (meros) meaning a part or a division.  When we are anxious are minds are divided, thinking about this scenario and then that scenario. We begin to look beyond ourselves for the answer.

Paul wrote “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” We see the need to make it known to Him. He knows about it but He needs us to tell Him that we need His help. He never forces His blessings on us against our will.

What’s His promise to those who hand their concerns over to Him? Php 4:7 ”And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The anxiety, the stress, the dis-ease can go and we can know an inner peace that has to be experienced to be believed. That peace can guard our hearts (our emotions and our wills) and our minds (so we can retain our sanity) so that we can make the right decisions about what we need to do.

What challenge that faces us do we need to hand over to God?  The story of Nehemiah reminds us that if we are humble enough to hand all our concerns over to God, He can be trusted to work on our behalf in His mercy, grace, love and power to do that which may seem to be impossible to us at the moment.

[Note 1. In Nehemiah chapter 1 verse 4 we read these words, “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” When we come to chapter 8 we see that Nehemiah’s prayer had been abundantly answered. But look at the difference in the use of the words.  In 1:4, “Wept” is from (bakah) in the Hebrew and means “wailing” coming from deep grief. Nehemiah had been deeply grieved for the situation in Jerusalem. “Mourned” is from the Hebrew (abal) which expresses the ongoing nature of the grief he felt. That led Nehemiah to fasting and praying.

But in chapter 8 the situation is different. God had worked a miracle for the people in Jerusalem. The walls had been rebuilt. Gates had been restored. The people were under the protection of their God. Neh 8:9 “And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah in chapter 1 is weeping and mourning. Now in chapter 8 he uses the same words for “weep” and “mourn” and tells the people they were not to weep or mourn. It was inappropriate because God had blessed them. It was now  a time for rejoicing!

There should come a time after  we have handed all our concerns over to God that intercession is replaced by praise and thanksgiving for answered prayer. We get the blessing He gets the glory!

Blog No.169. Jim Holbeck. Posted Monday 11th January 2016

 

 

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168. “Gabriel! Gabriel! Wherefore Art Thou Gabriel?” (A Christmas Puzzle. Luke 1)

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

These words in the title are not from some recently discovered manuscript written centuries ago by William Shakespeare as he tried to improve on his “Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art Thou Romeo?” expression in his “Romeo and Juliette” composition. Rather they echo the questions many have regarding Gabriel’s activities in the world among human beings. When and why did he come? Does he need to explain himself?

We read in the Bible about Gabriel’s appearances to 3 different humans.
The first was to Daniel in Daniel 8 and later in Dan 9. He came to bring meaning to mysteries so that Daniel was able to interpret them.

The second appearance was to Zechariah to tell him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a son. Luk 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. That came to pass as predicted and John the Baptist was born.

The third and final appearance in the Bible was to a virgin named Mary to tell her that she would bear a Special Son. Luk_1:26) “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, (27) to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.” That came to pass as predicted also. Jesus was born.

It is this third appearance we major on at this Christmas Season. We also need to see whether the New Testament writers were convinced by what Gabriel prophesied to Mary. In other words was Gabriel a reliable witness? Did he really bring forth the words of Yahweh, the Most High God that Jesus was the Son of God?

A). GABRIEL GAVE GOD’S MESSAGE TO MARY. Lk 1:28-31
(28) “And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” (29) But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. (30) And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. (31) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”

The interesting truth in this passage is that Mary is told she will conceive and bear a son whom she is to name “Jesus”. She has no choice in naming the child, for His name will signify His mission in life, namely to be a “Saviour”.

B). GABRIEL GAVE GOD’S MESSAGE ABOUT JESUS TO MARY. Lk 1:31-33
The truths about Jesus
1). Jesus Would Be A Saviour. Jesus = “One Who Saves”
(31) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Joseph was told in Mat 1:21, that the child was to be named “Jesus”, “… for he will save his people from their sins.” From the very beginning Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus would be a Saviour for His people.

2). Jesus Would Be “Great”
(32) He will be great. The word for “great” is (megas) and is used widely in the NT to describe the size of things. But it can also be used to describe importance or significance, as the words which follow make clear.

3). Jesus Would Be The Son Of The Most High
(32) “. … and will be called the Son of the Most High. Jesus’ greatness would be due to His being the “Son of The Most High.” The word for “Most High’ (húpsistos) is used to denote high places such as the highest heavens. But “Son of the Most High” is used of Jesus in Mk 5:7, here in Lk 1:32 and in Lk 8:28.

The Jews of that day with their strict form of monotheism had difficulty in coping with the description of Jesus as the Son of God. Yet these verses affirm that truth about Him. Many of the Jews wanted Him dead because they believed He had claimed to be the Son of God.

There is overwhelming evidence in the New Testament that Jesus was recognised as the Son of God. (This massive amount of convincing evidence is summed up below in Note 1.)

4). Jesus Would Reign Over The Throne Of His Father David
(32) … And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
Perhaps one of the most well-known Messianic prophecies regarding this is in Isa 9:7 “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this”. Jesus was that Messiah. His kingdom is everlasting.

5). Jesus Would Reign Over The House Of Jacob Forever
(33) and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
The house of Jacob stands for the people of God whose forefather was Jacob (later changed by God to Israel”. Sometimes the two names are joined such as in the following verses. Isa_10:20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isa_14:1 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
(See other references in Isa_46:3, Isa_48:1, Jer_2:4, Eze_20:5 and Mic_3:9.)
The house of Jacob (or the house of Israel) stands for all those who belong to God by faith. Jesus does and will rule over all those who have trusted in God. Forever!

6). Jesus Would Reign Over His Kingdom Forever
(33) …. and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Jesus taught that the kingdom arrived with His coming into the world, Mat_4:17 ”From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

His ministry focussed on proclaiming and demonstrating the good news of the kingdom, Mat_9:35 “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”

One of the dying thieves recognised Him as having a kingdom. Luk_23:42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

He described His kingdom as being different from human kingdoms, Joh_18:36 ‘Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”’

Preaching the kingdom meant preaching about Jesus, Act_8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act_28:23 When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
Act_28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

His arrival at His Second Coming will bring the kingdom to completion and will also bring about the judgment of all people, 2Ti_4:1 “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom”.

C). GABRIEL EXPLAINED GOD’S MESSAGE ABOUT JESUS TO MARY. Lk 1:34-35
(34) And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
1). Jesus’ Birth Would Be By The Supernatural Means Of The Holy Spirit
(35) And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” The Holy Spirit would bring the power of the Most High upon Mary to enable her to conceive the Son of the Most High.

2). Jesus Would Be Called “Holy”, The Son Of God
therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God.
The above ESV translation places both “holy” and “the Son of God” after the verb “will be called”. Jesus would be called both those things. The HCSB and the NIV2011 however add “holy” as an adjective to the words “one to be born”. Eg., “… Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God”. In a sense they both mean the same. Jesus (the One to be born) would be holy –set apart for God – as well as being the Son of God.

D). GABRIEL HEARD MARY DECLARE HER WILLINGNESS TO GIVE BIRTH TO JESUS AND THEN HE DEPARTED. Lk 1:38
(38) “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” The Bible record of Gabriel finishes with his delivering the message from God about Jesus to Mary. She responds in faith and places herself at God’s disposal. Gabriel’s work is done. He appears nowhere later in the Bible record, As Luke records, “And the angel departed from her.”

What a messenger was Gabriel! What a message! How a child to be born to a young woman would become the Saviour of the world, the Ruler of an everlasting Kingdom and be recognised as the Son of the Most High God.

BUT there are some who say Gabriel appeared again later in human history! With a very different message! According to this later message, Jesus is not the Son of God.

“Gabriel! Gabriel! Wherefore Art Thou Gabriel?” What do you have to say for yourself Gabriel? Why would you come with a different message about Jesus when it seems you gave God’s definitive message about Jesus being the Son of God, the Son of the Most High God, the Saviour of the world, and the ruler of an everlasting Kingdom, the Kingdom of God?

Why come again later with a different message that Jesus was not the Son of God? Why? It doesn’t make sense!

(UNLESS of course Gabriel didn’t ………………………………  ____________________________________________________

NOTE 1. The Evidence In The New Testament That Jesus Is The Son Of God
Sometimes He described Himself as the Son of God or inferred that God was His Father in a special way.
People said that Jesus taught He was the Son of God.
Mat_27:43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
Joh_19:7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”

Jesus spoke of Himself as the Son of God.
Joh_3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Joh_5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Joh_10:36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
Joh_11:4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

The apostle John wrote that He was the Son of God.
Joh_20:31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Jesus spoke of God as “My Father”
Joh_5:17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”
Joh_5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Joh_6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Mat_16:17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Joh_8:19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
Joh_8:28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
Joh_8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honour my Father, and you dishonour me.
Joh_8:54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
Joh_10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
Joh_14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Joh_20:17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

Jesus addressed God as “Father” when praying to Him
Mat_11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
Luk_23:34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Luk_23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Joh_11:41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
Joh_17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,

In other places He is described as the Son of God
Before His birth.
Luk_1:35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

During His ministry.
Mat_14:33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

At His crucifixion.
Mat_27:54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”(Also Mk 15:39)

The New Testament writers affirmed His Sonship
Mark.
Mar_1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

John.
Joh_1:34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
1Jn_3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
1Jn_4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1Jn_5:5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn_5:10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.
1Jn_5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1Jn_5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
1Jn_5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Rev_2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

Luke.
Act_9:20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Paul.
Rom_1:4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
2Co_1:19 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.
Gal_2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Eph_4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

The writer to the Hebrews
Heb_4:14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Heb_6:6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
Heb_7:3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
Heb_10:29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

At times He was addressed as the “Son of God” by others.
Mat_8:29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Mar_3:11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
Mar_15:39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
Mat_27:54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Luk_4:41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Joh_1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Joh_11:27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

He was challenged as to whether He was the Son of God
Mat_4:3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Mat_4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'”
Mat_26:63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Mat_27:40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Luk_4:3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
Luk_4:9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
Luk_22:70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.”
All of the above verses show that Gabriel’s message to Mary was indeed true. Jesus Christ, born of Mary, is THE SON OF GOD!

Blog No. 168. Jim Holbeck. Posted Tuesday 22nd December 2015

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No.167. Humans Can Be Deceived. Genesis 1-3 And The Fall Of Humankind

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

One of the problems with being deceived is that you don’t know you have been deceived until you come out of it. The tendency for humans to be deceived came with Adam and Eve. The serpent tempted Eve saying, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” His purpose was to confuse Eve. God in fact had said the exact opposite, Gen 2:16 “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden.  But there was a proviso, 2:17 ”but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Eve’s reply to the serpent shows that she had understood what God had said to her. She also understood what the punishment would be if she disobeyed God’s command, Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'”

 The serpent then added another prong to his deceptive attack on Eve. Having tempted Eve to doubt the faithfulness of God’s Word to her, he then told her a blatant lie. Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan accused God of telling a lie and then deceived Eve by telling her that there was a reason for God doing so. He infers that God had withheld this information from her because He didn’t want Adam and Eve to be like Himself knowing good and evil. The serpent was disparaging the character of God, insinuating that God was withholding information from Adam and Eve and that He didn’t want them to be as wise as Himself.

Some truths that emerge from this story in Genesis

1).   HUMAN FREE WILL MEANS THAT HUMANS CAN MAKE WRONG CHOICES

In spite of knowing what God had said and the consequences of disobedience to His word, Eve exercised her free will and made a wrong choice. Gen 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.”  Instead of loving and obeying God Eve chose to give in to her desires in an act of rebellion against God. This is the same attitude that John warned about in his first epistle,  1Jn 2:15-17,  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16)  For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life–is not from the Father but is from the world.

 We have in Genesis 3 the same wrong desires, the desires of the eyes (3:6, and that it was a delight to the eyes), the desires of the flesh (3:6, the tree was good for food) and the pride of life (3:6, the tree was to be desired to make one wise).

Adam also misused his free will and made the wrong choice. He too knew what God had said and what the consequences would be if he disobeyed. He too chose to disobey God, 3:6, “And she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” He could have refused the fruit but he chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. He too was now accountable to God for his rebellion and sin.

 2).   MISUSING HUMAN FREE WILL HAS CONSEQUENCES

It is often said that all sin has consequences whether they are recognised or not. These are some of the things that happened in the Garden in the fall of humans from the grace of God.

i).   An awareness of sin.  3:7, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloth”. It wasn’t the nakedness that was the problem. They had lived in nakedness before God until they succumbed to temptation. Rather it was the knowledge that God had seen into their decision to reject God’s command and had observed their subsequent actions in eating of the forbidden fruit.  They now knew they could never hide anything from God. Nevertheless they tried to “cover up” their guilt in the only way they could by covering their bodies.

 ii).   A desire to hide from God. Gen 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”  Humans have been trying to do that through the ages. Sometimes it has been by calling themselves “atheists” so they can think that God (whom they hope doesn’t exist) takes no notice of them because they are taking no notice of Him. Shouting out “There is no God!” doesn’t make Him cease to exist. After all what does God say about those who call themselves atheists? He says they are “fools”. Ps 14:1  “… The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (And Ps 53:1)

Or they desire to hide from God by calling themselves “agnostics” where they say that even if there is a god he can’t be known. Shouting out “God can’t be known!” as loudly as humanly possible does not make the knowable God (through the written word of God, The Bible, through the creation and especially through the living word, Jesus) unknowable. He can be known by all who want to know Him.

Or by ignoring everything to do with God or Christ or religion. Expressing no interest in spiritual things does not prevent one from standing before Jesus the Judge at the end of human history. Pleading ignorance is no ground for defence in God’s law court as He has made Himself known in His creation and pre-eminently in Jesus.

 iii).   Fear of the consequences of disobeying God.  9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”  10  And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” There is always fear in being found out especially when you know what the judgement is going to be.

 iv).   A tendency to shift the blame onto others.  We look at God’s question to them. Gen 3:11 ‘He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Adam projected his guilt onto the woman. Gen 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Adam then projected his guilt onto God Himself. Gen 3:12  The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me. Adam blamed Eve. But he also blamed God for giving him the woman in the first place.

There Are 2 Major Things We See At Work Here

  1. An unwillingness to take responsibility for wrong choices.

Projection of guilt onto others. “Passing the buck”. Living in denial of personal guilt.

  1. The beginning of the use of “Victim Mentality”.

Adam saw himself as a victim of Eve’s encouragement for him to eat of the fruit. “She’s responsible, not me. Hey, I’m the victim here.”

He also saw himself as the victim of God’s action in giving him the woman who in turn tempted him. “Now listen here Lord, it was the woman who was responsible, not me! And remember it was You who gave me the woman who tempted me. So ultimately I’m not to blame. You are! I’m just the victim of what You and Eve did!”

Victim mentality has been a part of the human race since that time. It is based on the concept, “I’m not to blame. They are! ” The more one embarks on that form of rationalisation of sin, the more the victim mentality deepens and the more it clouds a sense of reality. There are thousands of people today who have no awareness of personal guilt because they have always seen themselves as the victim in every situation.

CONSEQUENCES FOR THE HUMAN RACE

The consequences came to pass for Adam and Eve, Gen 3:22 ”Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”  (The consequence was spiritual and physical death and separation from God.)

The truths above are brought out in the New Testament.

Physical death. Rom 5:12-21, (12)  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned–

Condemnation by God. 5:16)  And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, AND 5:18)  Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Spiritual death.  Eph 2:1  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Separation from God.  Eph 2:12, ”remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

 In future articles we will look at what the Fall of Humankind in Genesis 1-3 means for life in today’s world. We will also look at the need we all have to be freed from deception and from the power of the enemy. Jesus called him, “the ruler of this world”, Satan, whilst in Rev 12:9 he is called “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.” We will be reminded that Jesus came to set us free from the power of the devil to enable us to walk in victory in Him.

Blog No. 167. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 9th December 2015

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166. The Need For People To Repent Of Their Sins. Sermon Outline On Luke 3:7-18. (The Gospel For Advent 3)

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

“I certainly don’t need to repent!” That was probably the thinking in the minds of many who heard John the Baptist preaching. He was calling people to repent in order to be forgiven, and then baptising those who responded to his message. This was a prophet like the prophets of the Old Testament, with their call to change behaviour.

Others might have felt that it was all right for him to speak to the Gentile unbelievers like that, but how dare he challenge the Jewish people as well! What arrogance to preach that they should repent of their sins and make changes to their lives! As people came forward confessing their sins, he baptised both the Gentiles and the Jews who responded to his message. In other words he expected everyone to admit their sins before God. John had come as a fore-runner to prepare the way for the coming of the Christ, the Messiah. The preparation needed by the people, was the change in attitude firstly towards God and secondly towards their sins.

A).   The Meaning Of Repentance

Let’s look at what repentance is not.

i.  It is not just feeling sorry for our sins. People can feel sorry that they were caught, without repenting of the act itself. We may feel sorry that our actions or words caused hurt to other people, without really repenting of the inner anger that made us do what we did or said. The inner anger may come from a refusal to forgive, or from a desire to harbour resentment.

ii.  It is not just feeling deep remorse. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, and was filled with remorse knowing that he had betrayed innocent blood. When he couldn’t undo the damage he had done, he took his own life. But that wasn’t repentance. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Judas had only worldly sorrow, deep though it may have been.

iii. It is not just rationalising our sins. That is, giving rational reasons (or excuses) for why we behaved as we did. Often associated with rationalising our sin is the process of projection where we project our guilt on to other people rather than admitting we were wrong. Eve projected her guilt onto the serpent and Adam projected his guilt onto Eve and perhaps onto God Himself, Gen 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” If we sin in any way we are accountable.

 What then is repentance? The Greek word is (metanoia) which means a change of mind accompanied by a change in behaviour. It involves a change of mind towards God and my relationship with God. It means a change of mind about my sins so that I adopt God’s attitude to them. The words to “confess” our sins before God, has the meaning to “say the same as” (Greek word is homologeō which is made up of homo = same  and logeo = to say). As we confess our sins, we are saying the same thing about them that God has said about them in His word. In other words we are agreeing with God’s verdict on our sins as declared in His word. Eg., 1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 Judas Iscariot didn’t repent. He didn’t turn back to God for His forgiveness. He tried to destroy his guilt by destroying himself. But there’s only one way to remove guilt and that is by repentance and by receiving forgiveness in Christ. He is the only One who can remove sin and the guilt of sin.

B).  Repentance Means A Change In Behaviour.

John the Baptist was very strong in stressing the need for repentance to be lived out through a changed life-style. It wasn’t enough to see oneself belonging to the people of God, and being unwilling to change. So in verses 7 to 9 he challenges them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”

When the people asked him what changes they needed to make, he replied with specific commands that were appropriate for each group of people who asked him. Generally there was the need to follow the Old Testament teaching to love one’s neighbour as oneself, so that “the man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” When Tax collectors also came to be baptised, and asked him what they should do, he replied, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to.” That was appropriate because they had a reputation for taking more than was required and putting the excess into their own pockets. When some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely ‑‑be content with your pay.” That is, don’t misuse your privileged position of power to get money for yourselves by force or extortion.

In all these practical examples of how penitent people should behave, John is taking them back to the word of God, because the Old Testament teaching, especially the ten commandments, had already prohibited the sinful practices that John now condemned. “You shall not steal”, “you shall not give false testimony against your neighbour”, “you shall not covet”, summarises what John told them. As repentant people they were to be living out the word of God in their lives.

C).  Repentance Means A Deepening Relationship With Jesus Christ

John could have enjoyed all the notoriety of being a great preacher, and attracting crowds of followers who would continue to hang on his every word. But he was the fore-runner to the Messiah, not the Messiah. So he began to turn people away from himself to look forward to the coming Messiah, whom we know to be Jesus of Nazareth. He said, “I baptise you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John’s mission was to get people ready to meet Jesus, and to put their trust in Him. John’s baptism was symbolic as a sign that sins could be washed away as people repented and responded to the message. But when Jesus came, He would baptise with the reality of the person and power of the Holy Spirit. It would be the real thing. Those who would accept Jesus would be purified as by fire, and also be strengthened by the indwelling Holy Spirit. John couldn’t provide this inward reality, only Jesus could. But people needed to become open to receive His message, by repenting of their sin, and by God’s grace living by the word of God in Scripture.

Change? Who? Me?

None of us like to admit that we need to change, because sometimes we are quite happy to remain where we are in life. For those who have never put their trust in Christ, we see here the need to come in repentance, confessing their sins, especially the sins of unbelief and rebellion against Christ, and asking for His forgiveness. Asking Him to baptise them with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Why did I stress these things in a Healing Service as I have done on numerous occasions? Because all of us need more spiritual, physical and emotional healing. If I refuse to admit my sin before God, it exacts a heavy physical and emotional toll on me, as David declared in Psalm 32, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me… Then I acknowledged my sin to You, and did not cover up my iniquity, I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ – and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” I can only know the release and freedom of forgiveness if I am willing to open up my sins to Him in genuine confession and ask for His forgiveness. God covers over the sins that we uncover before Him. (That is the meaning of the atonement).

My prayer is that as we read or preach these words from Luke 3 the Holy Spirit will minister to each of us and to others, to show us areas where we may need to be forgiven. As we confess them and ask God’s forgiveness in Jesus, His healing power can come upon us, to bring us more physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Mind you, our primary motivation in repenting of our sin is to please Him by obeying Him and not simply to get more healing!

Blog No.166. Posted by Jim Holbeck. Saturday 28th November 2015

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165. God As King Of The Universe And A Friend To His People

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

I once saw a cartoon that pictured a mother chastising her young daughter for something she had done. The little girl obviously didn’t like her mother speaking to her in that way. So she said to the mother, “You’re not my friend anymore!” Her mother, to make a point, replied, “I’m not your friend! I’m your mother!” It didn’t mean of course that the mother wasn’t going to be friendly towards her daughter. It simply meant that her daughter had to recognise that her mother had authority to correct her when necessary. Indeed the daughter would learn to recognise eventually that in normal families there can be a no greater human friend in a girl’s life than her mother.

GOD AS ALMIGHTY GOD AND AS A “FRIEND” IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
It is quite amazing to read in the Old Testament that God as the ultimate authority was nevertheless willing to be seen as a friend to His people. For example in Job 29 we have these words, (1) “And Job again took up his discourse, and said:(2) “Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,(3) when his lamp shone upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness,(4) as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent, (5) when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me” (ESV). The phrase “the friendship” is a Hebrew word (sod) and means intimacy or confidentiality. Job recognised that God had been a friend to him in caring for him. That is seen also in the Greek version of the Old Testament which has the word (epískopos) meaning oversight or a reference to God visiting or covering His people for good.

In Psalm 25:14 we have these words, “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Again this is the word for intimacy (sod) seen above in Job 29:4. As Keil and Delitzsch comment on this verse, “He opens his mind without any reserve, speaks confidentially with those who fear Him.” Here is the sense of God’s friendship in speaking openly and making known the truth of the covenant. In the Greek version however the word comes from (krataioō) which means to be strong or made strong. So various translations have these words, (HCSB) The secret counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them. (NASB) The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. (NIV) The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. (NRSV) The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them. The over-riding thought is that God, as the friend of David, expresses His friendship in caring for David and revealing to him the secrets of His covenant.

God is seen as a personal friend in Exodus 33:11, ”Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”. In the Greek version of the Old Testament the word for “friend” is (philos). We find that the same word is also in used in the Greek New Testament to describe various types of friends.

GOD AS A “FRIEND” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
In the New Testament the word for “friend” (philos) is used in a number of ways in referring to Jesus.
1). It Was Used By Jesus’ Enemies To Describe Him As Being A Friend Of Sinners
Mat 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Also Lk 7:34)

2). It Was Used By Jesus To Describe His Sacrificial Death For His Friends
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

3). It Was Used By Jesus To Describe The Close Relationship He Had To His Followers.
Jesus said that His disciples were His friends. Luke 12:4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.”
Jesus saw Lazarus as His friend. John 11:11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”
Jesus saw that His disciples were not just His servants. They were also His friends. John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

4). It Was Used To Describe Abraham As A Friend Of God. James 2:23 “and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.”

OTHER EXPRESSIONS THAT SHOW THAT GOD (AND JESUS) IS A FRIEND TO HIS PEOPLE
“Beloved”. It should not be surprising to us that the followers of Jesus are described as the “friends” of God and of Jesus. They are God’s “beloved”, the same term that is used of Jesus as God’s “beloved” Son. For example Paul used the word (agapētos = beloved) to describe believers in Rom 1:7 “To all those in Rome who are loved (beloved) by God and called to be saints.” He used it to describe those Gentiles who would trust in Christ and become members of the same family of God as Jewish believers, Rom 9:25 “As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.'” (The Jews who refused to believe in Jesus were still loved by God as part of His covenant people. Rom 11:28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.)

Paul also challenged those who had become the children of God by faith in Jesus, to respond to God’s love by imitating Him. They were “beloved children” and needed to show their gratitude for His love by living in the way He wanted them to live, Eph 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” There is a similar injunction in Colossians 3:12 where Paul describes his readers as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. “Beloved” here comes from a similar word, the verb form (agapaō). Those chosen by God to belong to him, set apart for him and loved by him were to respond by putting on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Col 3:12.

In 2Thess 2:13 we see God’s initiative at work in the lives of the Thessalonian believers. Paul describes them as brothers who are “beloved by the Lord”. This is the same word as in Colossians 3:12 (agapaō). The evidence of that love is seen in the fact that God chose them as the firstfruits to be saved. He did it by sanctifying them by the Spirit and by setting them apart to belong to Him. They took hold of what He was offering in love as they believed in the truth about Him. Another reference to that same word (agapaō) is to to be found in Jude 1:1 “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.” Again we see God’s initiative at work in calling them to Himself and keeping them safe for Jesus Christ.

Children of God. It is a wonderful thing when people act in a friendly way towards us and even become our friends. But how many of those friends would be willing to adopt us as their own children? Probably very, very few! But God did! His welcoming love is described in 1John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” God’s love was seen in His offering of His Son Jesus to be our Saviour. We responded to His love by receiving His gift, John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

God’s love is sacrificial. It is far deeper than even the very best of our friends can extend to us. As John writes, 1Jn 4:10 “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,11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

There are other terms we could investigate to show that God is a friend to His people. Jesus has told us in no uncertain terms that His followers are His friends. But it is also true that we are to regard Jesus not simply as some nice “buddy” or “pal” we can have a chat to at any time, (though we can!). Rather we are to see Him as a Friend who has done for us what no other friend could ever have done. And to see Him as One who can do in and through us what He longs to do to help fulfil His purposes in the world He created and came to redeem.
As Paul reminds us about our obligation to be a true friend to Him, 2Cor 5:15 “he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” As Jesus told us, Joh 15:14 “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
Jesus the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, says to us as believers, “You are My friends”.
Blog No.165. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 23rd November 2015

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No.164. The Person of Jesus. Session 4 of 4. JESUS THE “JUDGE”

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

We can’t ignore the topic of judgment if it’s in the Bible. In fact in the English Standard Version there are over 450 references to “judge” or “judgment”. Many of them are associated with God’s judgment on people in the past or in the future. There are many references to Jesus being the judge of all the earth at the end of human history. So it is a topic we cannot ignore.

This is the fourth of 4 sessions given at an all-day seminar at Port Macquarie Australia, on the Person of Jesus as 1 Creator, 2 Saviour, 3 Lord and 4 Judge. The audio talks given at the seminar are to be found under the same headings on You Tube under “Jim Holbeck”. The material below is adapted from the handout notes distributed at the Seminar. The notes below are best utilised whilst listening to the talks on You Tube but can be downloaded and used for personal or group study.

1). GOD’S JUDGMENT IS ALWAYS JUST AND THOROUGH
Gen 18:25 … Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
Psa 9: 8 and he judges the world with righteousness… with uprightness.
Ecc 12:14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

2). JESUS ACTS AS GOD’S AGENT IN JUDGMENT
(Joh 5:22) The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
Joh 5:27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment,
(Joh 8:16) …it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.
(Act 17:31) because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed;
(Rom 2:16) on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by (dia = through) Christ Jesus.

3). EVERYONE WILL STAND BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF GOD
Rom 14:10 …For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; …12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
1Co 4:5 … the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, .. good or evil.
(2Ti 4:1) Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,
Heb 9:27 … it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

4). THE BASIS OF JUDGMENT
I). One’s Attitude To Jesus
Joh 3:18 … whoever does not believe is condemned already,
Joh 5:26-29, For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.(27) And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.(28) Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice (29) and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
2Th 1:7 … when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
II). The rejection of Jesus and His words
(Joh 12:48) The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
III). Ungodly Behaviour And Speech
Mat 7: 23 … depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Heb 13:4 … God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Jud 1:14 …Behold, the Lord comes … 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness … and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Rev 20:12-13 … the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
IV). Refusal to repent
People in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. Mat 11:20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.,
Rom 2:5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Rom 2:8 but for those who … obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
Act 17:30 God … commands all people everywhere to repent,.

5). WHAT HAPPENS IN GOD’S JUDGMENT?
I). SEPARATION OF GOOD AND EVIL
Jesus’ illustration about the sheep and the goats, and people’s failure to care.
The “sheep” are rewarded for caring Mat 25:40, and the “goats” are punished for not caring. Mat 25:45 as you did not do it to one of the least of these
II). PUNISHMENT ON THE UNREPENTANT WICKED
2 Th 1:8 inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
III). REWARDS FOR THOSE WHO TRUST AND OBEY
1Co 3:14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward
(2Ti 4:8) Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day,

6). HOW TO AVERT JUDGMENT
Through repentance and trusting and obeying Jesus Christ. Joh 5:24 .. 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.
Rom 8:1, there is therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
Joh 5:28 … those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

7). DOES GOD WANT PEOPLE TO FACE HIS JUDGMENT?
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is .. patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Jn 3:16, he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

8). JESUS TO BE THE JUDGE THEN, WANTS TO BE OUR FRIEND NOW
I). We become friends by trusting and obeying God
(Jas 2:23) “Abraham believed God, ..and he was called a friend of God.
(Joh 15:15) Jesus. “ No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends”
II). Jesus can help us as no other friend can. Mat 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest
III). Jesus wants to be our close friend. (Joh 15:7) If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. AND (Joh 15:9) As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
IV). We can be confident when He comes. (1Jn 2:28) And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

JESUS IS (CREATOR-SAVIOUR-LORD-JUDGE). But He wants to be OUR FRIEND and we can become His friends by repenting of our sins and trusting in what He has done for us on the cross.

Blog No.164. Posted by Jim Holbeck. Monday 9th November 2015

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No.163. The Person of Jesus. Session 3 of 4. JESUS THE “LORD”

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FACT THAT JESUS IS “LORD”
The New Testament word “Kurios” can mean Lord, master, owner. It is also used as the New Testament Greek equivalent for the Old Testament Hebrew word “Jehovah” or “Yahweh”. It was used for a person who owned or controlled property, people or the state (eg., the Roman Emperor). It was also used as a title of respect in greetings. It was used of Jesus in New Testament as “Lord”, or “Lord Jesus”, or “Lord Jesus Christ.”

The outline below is adapted from a handout on this topic at an all-day seminar at Port Macquarie, Australia. This is the third of 4 sessions on Jesus as 1 the Creator, 2 the Saviour, 3 the Lord and 4 the Judge. The audio recordings of all the sessions are to be found under the same titles on You Tube under “Jim Holbeck.” These notes are suitable for downloading for use individually or in groups whilst listening to the audio talks on You Tube.

1). JESUS IS LORD OF THE UNIVERSE
I). JESUS SUSTAINS THE UNIVERSE HE CREATED
1Cor 8:6 yet for us there is one …. Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Col 1:17 … And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Heb 1:3 …he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

II). JESUS CONTROLS THE POWERS OF DARKNESS
Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Col 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

III). JESUS IS UNITING ALL THINGS IN HIS UNIVERSE IN HIMSELF
Col 1:19, For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Eph 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (HCSB,-to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him).
• “Unite” is ἀνακεφαλαίομαι (anakephalaiomai) or the process is called (anakephalaiosos) or “recapitulation.” It means to sum up, gather together in one, or literally unite under one head.

IV). JESUS IS WAITING FOR PEOPLE TO REPENT BEFORE HE RETURNS
2Pet 3:8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

V). JESUS IS RETURNING TO THIS WORLD. “Coming ready or not!” 2Pet 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, …

2). JESUS IS LORD OF THE CHURCH
I). THE CHURCH IS BUILT ON THE TRUTH THAT JESUS IS “The Christ, the Son of the Living God”. Peter recognised who Jesus was, Mat 16:16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus accepted that description of Himself as a God-given revelation, 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
He then used the declaration of this God-revealed truth to describe it as the truth on which the church would be established. Mat 16:18 (Mat 16:18) … you are Peter (Petros), and on this rock (petra) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

II). THE CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED ON JESUS’ SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS
(Act 20:28) … care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood
(Eph 5:23) ..Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
(Eph 5:25)… as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

III). ITS PEOPLE ARE COMMITTED TO CHRIST AS HEAD OF THE CHURCH
Jesus IS the head of the church
(Eph 1:22) And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.
(Col 1:18) And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
Leaders and all believers must submit to Jesus as the head of the church
(Act 9:31) …. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
(Act 14:23) And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
(1Cor 1:2) To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3). JESUS IS LORD (OR MUST BECOME LORD) OVER ALL INDIVIDUALS
I). WE MUST PERSONALLY SUBMIT TO HIS LORDSHIP OVER US
2Cor 5:15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

II). THAT SUBMISSION MUST BE IN EVERY AREA OF LIFE
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

III). SUBMISSION TO HIM AS LORD, TRANSFORMS US
As we maintain our focus on Him. 2Cor 3:16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
As we present all we are to Him. Rom 12:1 …. present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
As we ask Him to fill us with His Spirit. Eph 5:18 … be filled with the Spirit, 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.

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No.162. The Person of Jesus. Session 2 of 4. JESUS “THE SAVIOUR”

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Jim Holbeck

In this second session we look at Jesus as the Saviour of the world.

The brief outline below is a copy of the handout to participants at the seminar. The audio teaching from the seminar  is to be found with this title on You Tube under “Jim Holbeck”

Jesus is described as the “Saviour of the world”.
The Meaning Of “Salvation”
1) The Noun. (Sōtēria). Means salvation, preservation, freedom from sin, wholeness.
2) The Verb. (Sōzō). Means to save, heal, make more whole, preserve, restore.
3) The Noun. (Sōtēr). Means Saviour or Deliverer.
The Tenses Of Salvation
• PAST TENSE. We have been saved from the PENALTY of sin.
• PRESENT TENSE. We are being saved from the POWER of sin
• FUTURE TENSE. We will be saved from the PRESENCE of sin.

1) PAST TENSE. We have been saved from the penalty of sin
JUSTIFICATION. Made right with God. Through what Jesus did for us.
Rom 5:8, Christ died for us. Eph 2:8, saved through faith. 2 Tim 1:9, who saved us Titus 3:5, he saved us, …by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

What it means for us that we “have been saved”
i) Salvation is offered to us individually now. Rev 3:20, If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in. (We need to open the door of our lives to allow Him to enter).
ii) We can have assurance of our salvation. Jn 3:16, …have eternal life. Eph 2:8-9, you have been saved ..the gift of God 1 Jn 5:11-13, he who has the Son has life
iii) We can live with humble assurance and not arrogant presumption. Eph 2:8 By grace you have been saved…
iv) NOW we have peace with God. Rom 5:1, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God …
v) NOW we are no longer condemned by God. Rom 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
vi) NOW we belong to the family of God. Jn 1:12 … he gave the right to become children of God, …born of God. 1Jn 3:1,… love… we should be called children of God; 1Jn 3:2, …now we are children of God

2) PRESENT TENSE. We ARE BEING SAVED from the POWER of sin
(SANCTIFICATION– Jesus lives IN us)
i). 1 Cor 1:18, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
ii). 2 Cor 2:15, For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,
iii). Phil 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.
iv). Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

What it means for us that we are “being saved”
i). We are being empowered by the gospel we CAN understand.
1 Cor 1:18, For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (Only the “saved” can understand what God has done for them in Christ. The gospel empowers us to live for Christ in our everyday living.)
ii). God is pleased with those in whom Christ lives and moves. 2 Cor 2:15, For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing
iii). CAUTION! GOD IS AT WORK IN US! And He works through us!
• Phil 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. [Those being saved have to work OUT in everyday living what God is working IN them as “saved” people. They are being motivated (will) and empowered (work) by God Himself to live for His pleasure (will).]
iv). GOD HELPS THE “BEING SAVED PEOPLE” THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
2 things are necessary for our victories in our Christian lives from beginning to end on this earth. a. We need to keep drawing near to Him (our part) b. Jesus keeps on praying for us. (100% certain)

3) FUTURE TENSE. We will be saved from the PRESENCE of sin
(GLORIFICATION- Jesus is coming to take us WITH Him to glory).

We will be saved from God’s wrath.  i). Rom 5:9, Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. AND   1Thess 1:10, … to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
Our bodies will be set free from weakness. ii). Rom 8:23, … but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

What it means for us that we will be saved from the PRESENCE of sin!
The wrath of God will be released when Jesus returns but believers will be saved from it because

1). They have trusted in Jesus’ death for them. Rom 5:9, Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. And

2). They have turned to God. 1Thess 1:10, … to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

3). Our bodies will be set free from weakness when He returns to take us to be with Him in glory. Rom 8:23, … but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
Jesus is the ONLY Saviour.

The A.B.C.D. of making Him our Saviour. (From writings of the late Canon John Stott)

A. We need to Admit that we are sinners in the sight of God.

B. We need to Believe that Jesus died on the cross for each one of us.

C. We have to Consider the cost of becoming a Christian. Salvation is a free gift but it demands our total response to God.

D. We have to Do something about it. We have to invite Him into our lives.

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