176. The Prayer That Can Change The World -The Lord’s Prayer- “Your Will Be Done” Matthew 6:10. (Study 4 of 9)

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

 

“Not as I will, but as You will.” These are among the most significant and powerful words ever uttered by human lips. The words were part of a prayer by Jesus to His Heavenly Father as He faced His last hours on earth. They were uttered in the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was preparing Himself to go to the cross.

Jesus and the will of God. Luke 22:41-42

As Jesus faced that awful prospect He prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And a little later He repeated the words, “ (42)  … “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

Jesus as a human had the free will to choose to do God’s will or His own will. But His will was always to do His Father’s will. He expressly indicated that during His ministry in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Nevertheless the prospect of becoming sin for humans would have been repugnant for Him except He knew it was part of His Father’s eternal plan for Him. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews put it, Hebrews 12:2 “…  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Why should we pray “Your will be done?” Because we need to! We need to focus on what is the most important thing for us to do in life. That is, as creatures to obey our Creator and to do His will for us. Or to obey our loving Heavenly Father as grateful children who have been adopted into His family. .

1).        What is the Father’s will?

The Bible Writers Have Told Us Much About His Will

i). God’s will meant that the Messiah had to suffer.  (Isa 53:10 “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand”. There is also a lot of foretold detail about the crucifixion scene, in Psalm 22.

ii). God’s will was fulfilled by Jesus as He came as the Messiah, Heb 10:9 “Behold, I have come to do your will.” By fulfilling God’s will through His sacrificial death, Jesus set believers apart to belong to God, Heb 10:10 “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

iii). Believers are destined for adoption as God’s children as part of God’s will for His people. (Eph 1:5 “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

iv). His will is to distribute the Gifts of the Spirit as He wills, (Heb 2:4 “…God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to His will.”

v). Answers to prayer come when prayer is offered according to His will. (1 John 5:14 “And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

vi). Suffering may be in accord with His will. (1 Pet 3:17 “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil.” AND 1 Pet 4:19 “Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.”

 2).        God’s Will Can Be Known And Should Be Obeyed

i). God’s will means that His people should be set apart (sanctified) for His purposes, 1Thess 4:3  “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality”.

ii). God’s will means giving thanks to Him always, 1 Thess 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (An Attitude Of Gratitude)

iii). God’s will means that we should do what is right throughout our lives.  (1 Pet 2:15 “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.”  AND (1 Pet 4:2 1Pet 4:1-2, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2  so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

iv). Transformation by the renewing of the mind is necessary to know the will of God. Rom 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

v).  It is expected that believers should come to know the will of God. Eph 5:17 “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

vi). We can pray that people are filled with the knowledge of God’s will, Col 1:9 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”

vii). God’s will has to be done sincerely from the heart. (Eph 6:5-8, “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man. 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”

viii). It needs endurance to do His will. (Heb 10:36 “For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

ix). God gives us grace to do His will. (Heb 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

3).        The Blessings On Those Who Obey The Will Of God

i). The blessing of answered prayer. (John 9:31 “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.”

ii). The blessing of eternal life.  (1 John 2:17 “And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.”

iii). The blessing of knowing the authority of Jesus’ words. (John 7:17 “Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own.”

iv). The blessing of belonging to the family of God. (Mark 3:35 “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

v). Transformation by the renewing of the minds is necessary to discern the will of God. But it leads to the discovery that His will is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

4).        The Danger Of Resisting The Will Of God

i). Humans can use their free-will to resist the will of God for them. We have these tragic words from the lips of Jesus as He approached Jerusalem. He knew what was going to happen to the city because of their rejection of Him as God’s Messiah. Mat 23:37  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

ii). He was offering them His blessing and protection but they refused Him. Calamity would follow. And it was just so unnecessary. All they had to do was to accept Him as their Messiah and follow Him but they refused. He wanted to gather them into His fold but they were not willing. They were accountable for their rejection of Him. They were accountable for their rejection of God’s purpose through Him for their salvation.

So What Are We  Praying When We Pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”

i). There is no resistance to God in heaven. His will is done all the time. What we are asking for in this prayer is that God would work in the hearts of every person so that His will, and only His will, is done on earth. We know of course that there are many people around the world and throughout history who have had and have no intention of doing only the will of God. They want to do their own will. So it is worthwhile praying when we know it’s not going to happen any time soon?

The answer is of course is “Yes!” When we pray the words “Your will be done” we are affirming before God that we want to do His will and His will alone. The words are part of the total commitment we are meant to make to God for every moment of every day. As we pray we are saying to the Lord, “I am yours and I want to be everything You want me to be. I want to do what You want me to do. I want to say what You want me to say. I want to pray what You want me to pray. I want to be where you want me to be. Please cleanse me, direct me and empower me to live for You today, for every moment of the day, so that I can do Your will to Your glory.”

ii). As we pray the prayer we are also crying out to God in utter sincerity that we want Him to work in our lives to enable all this to happen. God’s grace in terms of His unmerited favour was needed through Jesus’ death and resurrection to enable us to come into the family of God in the first place. His grace in terms of His enabling is also needed to enable us to live for Him throughout our lives in a way that will bring Him glory. We know that as we get closer to the centre of His will for us we will be wonderfully blessed. But the blessing is not the goal. The desire to please Him is the goal. The blessings which follow are the result of our giving ourselves totally to Him.

iii). AND of course as we pray “Your will be done” we are praying that the Lord would work in the hearts of all people so that they too desire to love and obey Him. We want Him to be honoured and loved. We want Him to be experienced and willingly obeyed. We want Him to be at the very centre of every person’s life.  So as we pray “Your will be done” we are saying that we want Him to manifest His love and power in His world so that He may be glorified in all the world (and especially in our own hearts.)

Questions for individuals or groups to consider. (Added on Wednesday 25th May 2016)

Ques 1). Do you think that in the introduction to the notes the writer to the Hebrews minimized the sufferings of Jesus on the cross by saying “for the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross.” Why or why not?

Ques 2). In section 1 what did the will of God entail for Jesus? What does it entail for us?

Ques 3). In section 2 what is said explicitly to be the will of God? What implications should that have for our own lives?

Ques 4). In section 2 what does it say about believers and the will of God?

Ques 5). What are some of the conditions we see in section 3 that are necessary for experiencing God’s blessing?

Ques 6). What do you learn from section 4 about people’s decisions to choose NOT to do the will of God? Do you think that people today make the same sort of decisions?

Ques 7). As you look at the concluding section what sort of thoughts do you think should be in our minds as we pray the Lord’s Prayer? Why do you think that?

Blog No. 176. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 10th March 2016. Revisited 25th May 2016

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175. The Prayer That Can Change The World -The Lord’s Prayer. “Your Kingdom Come”. Mat 6:10.(Study 3 of 9)

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Why should we pray to God “Your kingdom come?” The answer is that it is essential that we do so. There are many who see that the present world is in a horrible mess and in a rapid moral downward spiral. Many of them pray this phrase with a great desire for God to intervene in this world before it is “too late”. One would have to admit for example that the world is in danger from radical extremism. In addition there are many atheists and agnostics who believe that Christians have become the most persecuted people in the world.

The prayer that Jesus taught us can make a difference when we pray it with the right motivation. Our motivation in praying for God’s kingdom to come should be to see His rule being established in the hearts of every individual and in the affairs of all the peoples of the world.

 1).           WHAT “THE KINGDOM OF GOD” MEANS.     It means God’s rule over people. It means submitting to Him. Letting Him dictate how we should live personally, in family life and as a society. It means, by His grace, living by His laws, obeying the two great commands to love God with all we are and to love one another as ourselves.  God always meant His people to live under His direction as their king. But when His people eventually cried out for a human leader like the leaders of the nations around Israel, He saw they were rejecting His rule over them and He allowed them to have a king. God promised in 2 Sam 7:12-16 that though He was allowing an earthly king over His people, He would eventually establish a throne, a kingdom that would never come to an end. It was later associated with the role of the Messiah, in Isaiah 9:7, “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness.”

In a sense God was always in control even when He allowed His people to turn away from His rule and to seek an earthly type of king to rule over them, Psa 103:19 “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.”  But there would come a time when His kingdom would come more fully, when the Messiah would come, and He would ultimately bring in the fulfilment of the kingdom in which all the enemies of God would be completely overcome, e.g., Dan 6:26 “He is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.”

 2).           THE KINGDOM HAS COME IN JESUS

i).         John the Baptist declared this truth in his preaching as he prepared the way for the coming of the Christ, the Messiah. Mat 3:1, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus was soon to begin His ministry and people were to get ready to respond to their coming Messiah. Many people including tax collectors recognised that they needed to repent. They responded to John’s message and were baptised by him, Luke 7:29, “When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.” However many of the religious leaders set their hearts against Jesus as the Coming Messiah even before He began His ministry to bring in the kingdom.

 ii).        Jesus as He began his ministry, taught that the kingdom had come in Himself. Mat 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And in Mat 4:23, “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” The good news of the kingdom was that Jesus had come to set people free from their sin. He had also come to heal the sick and people saw the power of God (Kingdom power) at work in the healings that took place through His ministry.

iii).       It took a thief hanging on his own cross to recognise that the Jesus hanging in weakness on a cross near him, was a king. In one of the most faith-filled statements that were ever uttered from human lips he said, Luke 23:42   “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  Who looked less like a king than Jesus hanging in weakness on a cross, the object of spite and scorn and hatred? Many of the religious people, who should have recognised Jesus as King, rejected Him. Many sinners like the thief, accepted Him.

iv).       Jesus demonstrated the power of the kingdom in His miracles, signs and wonders. He challenged the people as He ministered to them in the power of the Spirit, Mat 12:28 “But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” Lk 11:20. He did drive out demons so it meant the kingdom of God had come. He was simultaneously preaching and exhibiting the kingdom in His healing and deliverance ministry.

v).        He demonstrated the power of the kingdom in His death, resurrection, ascension, being seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and in sending the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In Acts 1, Luke described how Jesus, after His resurrection and before He ascended to heaven, appeared to His disciples for 40 days, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:6 ‘So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”’

He promised that they would soon receive a new power to live and to witness when they were baptised with the Holy Spirit. Some days later they received the Spirit of God into their lives and were transformed. Peter explained that this was the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise about the kingdom He had come to establish.

Paul indicated much the same as he shows in Eph 1:20-23 how Jesus ascended into heaven, and is seated at God’s right hand, as King of kings and Lord of lords, having established His kingdom.  Whether people like it or not, the Bible indicates that Jesus Christ is Lord and King, and they need to submit to Him.

 3).           WE NEED TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS.      Jesus taught that Satan had a kingdom. But it was a kingdom He had come to destroy. John wrote of the power that Satan had in an unbelieving world, 1Jn 5:19, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” When Jesus cast out demons He was accused of being an instrument of Satan. He pointed out the absurdity of such a suggestion, Mat 12:26 “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?” And in Luke 11:18 “And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.” Jesus was exercising the power of the kingdom of God in delivering people from the power of Satan.

Paul reminded those from a Gentile background that they had been set free from one dominion when they believed and they had entered into another kingdom, Col 1:12 “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” From darkness to light. From bondage to freedom. From being guilty before God, to be forgiven by Him, through faith in Him.

To be able to enter into the Kingdom of God is an evidence of God’s love and grace to us.   Jesus said that people needed to be born again to enter it. He said to Nicodemus, John 3:3-5, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the  kingdom of God unless he is born again. … no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” How could that happen? By putting one’s faith in Jesus for salvation, Jn 3:14-15, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (on a cross for sinners) that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.” As the Israelites looked in faith at God’s provision of a bronze serpent on a pole for their healing, so people have to look by faith at Jesus as the One crucified on a cross to take away sin, in order to be saved.

When one receives Jesus into their life as Saviour, they enter into the kingdom. It’s not on the basis of human goodness, but through faith in who Jesus is and in what He has done through His life, death and resurrection.. Entry into the kingdom is open to all those who are open to Him. That’s what Jesus said about the most unlikely people who were entering the kingdom, while a lot of religious people were missing out, (Mat 21:31 “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.” Those who exercised their freewill in rejecting God’s purpose in sending Jesus were nevertheless accountable to God for their rejection.

4).           WE  NEED TO LET GOD ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM RULE IN OUR HEARTS.   Jesus taught that His followers were to enter into the kingdom, and let the kingdom enter more and more into them. Instead of focussing on and worrying about the so-called necessities of life such as food, shelter and clothing, they needed to focus on the kingdom, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Mat 6:33.

i).         It means relying on God for the very necessities of life rather than being absorbed in the search for those material things,  “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”. Rom 14:17, 18.  It is about a relationship with God and the blessings of peace and joy which follow.

ii).        It means having a humble dependency on God like that of a young child, Mat 19:14   ‘Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”’  Mk 10:14. Faith is not childish but rather exhibits child -like dependence.

iii).       It means giving oneself completely to God, and not turning back, Luke 9:62  “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”  Being, by God’s grace, a member of the kingdom of God brings the responsibility of gratefully rendering to Him one’s undivided loyalty and total commitment to Him as King.

iv).       It means becoming the people of praise God meant us to be. It is part of obeying the first commandment given by Jesus, Mat 22:37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.” Peter reminded his readers about their identity in Christ, 1 Pet 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” As His people they had the privilege and the responsibility to declare His praises (or to declare His “excellencies” as the words could also be translated). An unrighteous king or ruler might demand acclamation and complete servitude but the King of heaven desires that His people praise and serve Him willingly and gratefully from their hearts, for the good it does THEM!

v).        It means doing the works God had planned for us to do in kingdom living, Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” And in Titus 2:13-14. “(Jesus) gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself, a people of His own, zealous for good works“. God’s kingdom has come in Jesus but it still has to come fully in its entirety when He returns in glory. God’s kingdom may indeed be extended as we play our part as His willing subjects in being the people of God He wants us to be and in doing the things He has eternally planned for us to do.

There is an amazing statement in 2Pet 3:11-12 where Peter writes, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12) waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” The coming of the King as Jesus returns will bring completion to the kingdom and these words seem to indicate that believers can play a part in determining when that will be, by living holy and godly lives. Such godly living will “hasten the coming” of the day. “Hasten” is from the Greek (σπεύδω, speudō) which means to bring about more quickly. Vincent’s Word Studies explains it thus, “causing the day of the Lord to come more quickly by helping to fulfil those conditions without which it cannot come.”  Only God knows when that will be but we are encouraged to live in such a way that it will come sooner (humanly speaking) as we live as we should. We can help bring back the King sooner! He told us in His word!

The king is on His throne in His kingdom. Kingdom power, resurrection power is now available to His people as Jesus is ruler of all. Paul prays that they will know the hope of the kingdom, the riches of the kingdom, and the power of the kingdom, Eph 1:18 “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” He is the eternal, incomparable King of all kings.

PRAYING THE LORD’S PRAYER TODAY.   There is great fear throughout the world because of the progress of terrorism and its associated violence and extreme senseless brutality. It seems that there is another ideology which wants everyone on earth to submit to it but it is entirely different to the kingdom of God. Suffice it to say here that God will brook no rival because of the love He has for His people. That’s why we need to pray earnestly, “Your kingdom come” so that God can work through our prayers to establish His kingdom rule  in the hearts of those who don’t know Him and who may be, in their ignorance, seeking to set up another “kingdom” entirely at odds with His.

Paul knew the danger of false ideologies. He instructed the Corinthian church how to deal with them, 2 Cor 10:3-5, “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, (4)  since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments  (5)  and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.”  For our own protection we can take all our thoughts to the Lord so that He can enable us to discern what is of Him and what is not of Him in our thinking and to make the right choices in life.

But we can do something for the safety and protection of the wider world as well. We can pray for all those in leadership positions in the world (those legally elected and those unlawfully gained) and for all those under their influence that God would demolish strongholds in their minds which do not respect Christ as King and may in fact be demonic and opposed to His purposes for the world. We can pray that He would demolish all ideologies in the minds of people that do not give Christ His rightful place as King, Creator, Saviour, Lord and Judge.

Fear can paralyse us. Concern can motivate us to do something about situations over which we have no control. Trust in Jesus as King can enable us to pray to the One who can do something that only He can do in situations in answer to our prayers.

Perhaps as we next pray the first part of the Lord’s Prayer we might take a little more time to add something like this, “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. O Lord may Your Kingdom come more fully in every area of my life including my thought life. I want to be the person You want me to be and to do the things You want me to do. I pray too that Your kingdom may come in the lives of every person in this world , to demolish the strongholds that exist in their minds and to destroy every ideology that seeks to bind people rather than releasing them into Your glorious truth and into the glorious liberty that we enjoy as Your children. Please put into my mind the people and the situations for which You want me to pray so that I can play my part in seeing the demolishing of strongholds in their lives and seeing captives being set free. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ my Saviour, Lord and King. AMEN.”

Some suggested questions for discussion

1). If God is King why is there so much evil in the world? Is His power limited? [See section 1 especially]

2). What does Luke 23:39 – 43 tell us about the difficulty in recognising Jesus as a king? [See section 2 (iii) especially]

3). How does one come into God’s kingdom and under God’s kingdom rule? [See section 3  especially]

4). What are the blessings that come to those who come into God’s kingdom? [See section 3 especially]

5). How can we in practical terms, “seek first” God’s kingdom? What changes would be needed in our priorities? [See section 4 especially]

Blog No.175.  Jim Holbeck. Published on Tuesday 23rd February 2016

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Forgiveness, GROUP DISCUSSION MATERIAL on "The Lord's Prayer", Healing, Prayer, Salvation, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

174. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. “Hallowed Be Your Name.” Matthew 6:9. (Study 2 of 9)

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

It is true that when children have been asked to write down the words of the Lord’s Prayer, some have written “Harold be Your Name.” That is quite understandable for those youngsters who have heard the prayer but not seen it in written form. But “Harold” is not the name of the Lord.  It is obvious that if this world is created by God the only way we could know His name is if He chose to reveal it. Fortunately for us He has done precisely that.  We read about it for example in Exodus 3 where God appears to Moses.

1).        WHAT IS THE NAME OF GOD?

Moses asked God what name he should use in describing God to the Israelites whom he was to lead, Exo 3:13, ‘Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” The answer is given by God, 14) “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” 15)  God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” The people were to understand that the God who had appeared to Moses was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His name would remain the same through all generations for ever.

There is real significance in the name God gave to Moses. God revealed Himself as “I AM WHO I AM”. The word comes from the Hebrew verb “to be”, and is translated as “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” or simply “YHWH”. It could also mean, “I will be what I will be.” In the words of the Bible Believers Commentary on Exod 3:13-14, “The name proclaims God as self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, and sovereign. The fuller name I AM WHO I AM may mean I AM BECAUSE I AM or I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE.” Eternal. Infinite. Self-sufficient. Supremely majestic.

 2).        WHAT IS MEANT BY THE “NAME” OF GOD?

The “name” stands for all that the person is in character, as well as for all the person has done and is doing. There are many other names used to describe God. Many of them were revealed to humans by God Himself. For example, He told Abraham that His name was El Shaddai, the Lord “God Almighty”, Gen 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.” He later told Jacob the same thing, Gen 35:11. In the meantime Isaac told Jacob that “God Almighty” would bless him as he searched for a wife, Gen 28:3. Later Jacob (now Israel) desired that “God Almighty” bless his sons as they sought to bring Joseph and Benjamin back to him, Gen 43:14. Later still Jacob (Israel) told Joseph that it was “God Almighty” who had appeared to him at Luz in the land of Canaan and had promised to bless him, Gen 48:3. The word describes the almighty power of God who is able to intervene in human circumstances.

Another name is Jehovah Jireh (The Lord Will Provide) is found in Gen 22:14 “So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” God did provide a lamb for sacrifice instead of Abraham offering up Isaac. There are other names which signify aspects of God’s character and His dealings with His people. (See Note 1 below).

In the New Testament we see fewer names for God. The main word for “God” throughout the New Testament is “theos” which is used of God (YHWH). [“Theos” is also used sparingly of false gods (see Note 2). He is described for example as “Saviour” (see Note 3)]. He is described as  “Father”, as “the Lord”, the “Lord God”, the ‘living God”, the “Most High God”, the “God of glory”, the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”,  the “True God”, the “God of peace”, the “God of comfort” and a few other names in association with “theos”. However it should be noted that “kurios” (Lord) is often used of God the Father as a stand-alone title or in association with other titles. “Kurios” is also used of Jesus the Son as Lord.  When Jesus gave His disciples the Lord’s Prayer as a model of prayer He still had to go to the cross to die for humankind. He still had to rise from the dead and be seen by many of His followers. He still had to ascend into heaven and be seated at the right hand of God. Paul reminds us in Phil 2 that God raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to heaven. Not only that but He bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus all should bow in worship and submission to Him as Lord, Php 2:8-11, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (9) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (10) so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

What that means in practice is that when we are praying the Lord’s Prayer we need to remember that in praying for God’s name to be hallowed, we need also to hallow the name that God Himself has hallowed by placing it above every other name, namely the name of Jesus. To fail to give Jesus His rightful place in our lives as Lord is to be guilty of not honouring or  hallowing the name of God.

3).        GOD’S NAME MAY BE “HALLOWED” OR IT MAY BE “PROFANED”

This is seen in many Old Testament passages. Eg., in Lev 22:32, “And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.” The word for “profane” is (chalal) and can refers to profaning God’s name and to defilement such as sexual immorality or desecration of holy things.  YHWH expressed through Moses and through the prophets His concern that His people would profane His name by their disregard for His law and commandments. For example in (Lev 22:2)  “Speak to Aaron and his sons so that they abstain from the holy things of the people of Israel, which they dedicate to me, so that they do not profane my holy name: I am the LORD.”

YHWH would not allow His name to continue to be profaned. He warned through Ezekiel 36:23, “And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.”

It seems then that God’s people could “hallow” or “sanctify” His name by obedience to Him or they could profane His name by neglecting to follow Him and His laws. They were accountable. Their belief and their behaviour did matter to God. He wanted His people to show forth His character in the lives they lived in fellowship with Him and in obedience to Him.

4).        HOW CAN WE HALLOW GOD’S NAME TODAY?

It means taking God seriously. Very seriously indeed! His name is not hallowed when it is used for swearing, curses and improper speech of any kind. Nor is it hallowed when those who belong to Him, who are called His name, live in such a way that His holiness is not displayed in and through their lives. How then can one “hallow God’s name” today?

i).         We hallow His name by submitting every aspect of our lives to Him and to His word.

ii).        We hallow His name by agreeing with His verdict on human sin in all its forms and recognising that only Jesus could redeem people from their sin.

iii).        We hallow His name by agreeing with His verdict about Jesus that He is His Beloved Son. His voice from heaven expressed His love for His Son, at His baptism, Mar_1:11 “And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” and at His Transfiguration, Mar_9:7 “And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 

v).        We hallow His name by allowing Him to fill us with His Spirit so that He can manifest His life in and through us, 2Cor 4:11 “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

vi).       We hallow God’s name by reverencing (hallowing) Christ in our hearts as Lord, 1Pe 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.” (“revere” is from “hagaizo” meaning to sanctify or to “hallow” as in the Lord’s Prayer.)

 SUMMING UP

Perhaps none of us will ever realise all that is involved in praying that short phrase, “Hallowed be Your name” in the Lord’s Prayer. What I have written above may be just a fragment of the total meaning. If I were to attempt to express all those meanings in a few short sentences in prayer,  it may turn out something like this. “Heavenly Father I pray that in everything I say and do, I may bring glory to Your name. May Your name be honoured by every person on earth. Work in me and in them by the power of Your Holy Spirit that we may prove to be a holy people expressing Your life in us and Your love through us. In Jesus’ name we pray. AMEN”  

QUESTIONS BASED ON THE ABOVE
1). God described Himself as “God Almighty”. Why do we find it difficult to think of Him as having all might?

2). Jesus is often described as “the Lord Jesus Christ”. In what ways should that truth motivate us to live godly lives today?

3). We are to “hallow” God’s name. What sorts of human behaviour do hallow His name and what sorts of behaviour do not? 

NOTES.

Note 1. Other names for God include the following. “El” is used as a general name for God and for other so-called deities. “Elohim” the plural is used in a singular sense for God but is also used of false gods. Adonai (Lord, Master), El Elyon (The Most High God), El Olam (The Everlasting God), Elohim (God), Jehovah Mekoddishkem (The Lord Who Sanctifies You), Jehovah Nissi (The Lord My Banner), Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd), Jehovah Rapha (The Lord Who Heals), Jehovah Sabaoth (The Lord of Hosts), Jehovah Shammah (The Lord Is There), Jehovah Shalom (The Lord Is Peace), Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness), Qanna (Jealous).

Note 2. “Theos” is used of false gods in in the singular in Acts 7:43 and 12:22 and as the plural “theoi” in Acts 7:40, 14:11, 19:26, 1 Cor 8:5, Gal 4:8.

Note 3. God as “Saviour” in found in Luk_1:47, 1Ti_1:1, 1Ti_2:3, 1Ti_4:10,  Tit_1:3,  Tit_2:10,  Tit_3:4,  Jud_1:25.

Blog No. 174.  Jim Holbeck. Posted Thursday 18th February 2016

 

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173. The Prayer That Can Change The World. The Lord’s Prayer. The Fatherhood of God. “Our Father in Heaven.” (Study 1 of 9)

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

(NOTE:- This article may be downloaded as a PDF file for individual or group study by clicking here Study 1 of 9 Lords Prayer Based on blog 173

“Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name.”  These words must have shocked all those who heard Jesus speak. He was teaching His followers how to pray. He taught that they should address God in this way. Many would have seen Him as guilty of blasphemy. The Jews were monotheistic, so how could God have a Son or children? We will get some answers as we look at what the Bible says about this phrase.

1).        GOD AS “FATHER” IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

i).  The term “Father” was used in a general sense of God as the creator of humans.  Moses rebuked the people of Israel,  Deut 32:6  Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?  God is the creator of all peoples. All owe their origin to Him. But His own people had acted like disobedient children and missed out on much of what God wanted to give them. So do all who do not recognise Him as a loving Heavenly Father who delights to bless and protect all who come to Him in faith.

 ii).  The word was also used to describe God as a Father to His people. He described Himself as such.  Jer 31:9 “They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father.”

To sin against God was a breach of love against a Heavenly Father. It was not just breaking a command. Deut 32:6 “…  Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”

Malachi issued the same challenge, “Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another?” (2:10).

Isaiah called God “Father” in his prayers in 63:16, “But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.” And in Isaiah 64:8, “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

God would even be a father to the King, 1 Chron 17:12-13, “He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he will be my son.

 iii).  God had Father-like qualities. As a father carries a son. Deut 1:31  and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

He cared for the disadvantaged, Psa 68:5  “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his  holy dwelling.”

His love was more accepting and forgiving than that of human parents. Psa 27:10 “Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.”

He would mould and fashion the lives of those who placed themselves in His loving care, Isa 64:8  “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the  potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

God is compassionate like a father. Psa 103:13  “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.”

He disciplines in love as a true father should. Prov 3:11-12,  “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, (12) because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”

Throughout the Old Testament we see those 2 features, the need for God’s children to respect Him as the one who had brought them into being, and also God’s promise that He would care and provide for His children.

2).    GOD AS “FATHER” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. The concept of God in the secular philosophies of Jesus’ day saw God as detached from the world, indifferent, uncaring and unmoved. But the NT writers describe God as a Father who knows, who cares, and who is motivated by love to do something for the needs of His children..

i).  Jesus taught His followers to see God as their Heavenly Father. As we have seen they were to address God as ‘Our Father” in the Lord’s Prayer. He also taught them that their Heavenly Father was interested in hearing and answering their prayers. The promises of God about answers to prayer are particularly for those who are His children.

He encourages us as the children of God to ask so that we will receive, to seek so that we find it in Him, and to knock so that doors are opened to us. As Jesus said, if human fathers actually do give good things to their children, then how much more is God as Father motivated to give,  Luk 11:13  “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

ii). Jesus taught His followers to expect answers to prayer from Him because He is a giving God. He gave us His Son, Jn 3:16, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that those who believe in Him might not perish but have eternal life. (St Paul later added to that concept by writing in Rom 8:31-32, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”) God can’t be a Father to us if we are not willing to become His child. He can’t pour out all the blessing He has for us as His children if we won’t receive His Son in whom all those blessings are to be found. Eph 1:3.

Jesus also encouraged His followers to pray to a Father who answers prayer. We see this in the following verses,  Mat 18:19   “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about  anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” AND John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit‑‑fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. AND John 16:23 “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

iii).  God is seen as a compassionate Father, unchanging and impartial. Compassionate .2 Cor 1:3   “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the  Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” Unchanging. James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change. ” Impartial. 1 Pet 1:17   “you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially”

iv).   The Fatherhood of God for believers is different to the Fatherhood of God as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus told us so. He spoke of God in His teaching, as “My Father”. When He addressed God in prayer, He normally prayed, “Father.” Eg., Lk 10:21, 22:42, 23:34. His last prayer was on the cross,  Luke 23:46 … “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

We are children of God in a different sense to Jesus who is the eternal Son of God. That’s why Jesus said after His resurrection from the dead, “I am ascending to My Father, and your Father, to My God and your God.” Jn 20:17.  We are children of a Heavenly Father, not by natural birth but through adoption by Him. Rom 8:23 “ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” And Eph 1:5  “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”

v).      How could sinful people become children of God?  By believing in Jesus and thus being born into God’s family. Jn 1:11 “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” However some did, 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.”

vi).      Most New Testament writers described God as “our Father”. Paul did so in all his epistles except 1 and 2 Timothy. The term “our Father” is not found in Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John and Jude though the concept of God as the Father certainly is.

vii).     God the Father is seen as the source of our creation and salvation. 1 Cor 8:6  “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things  came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through  whom all things came and through whom we live.”

viii).     God the Father is seen as the One who so loved the world that He gave us His Son to die for us on the cross, to get rid of our sin and to reconcile us to Himself as His children. Not only is that true in John 3:16, but the same concept is seen in other places in the New Testament. For example, 1 John 4:14 “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to  be the Saviour of the world.” As we read the words in 1 John 3:1, we’re reminded of the incredible costliness of that love for us, “How great is the love (what manner of love) the Father has lavished on us, that we  should be called children of God!”

Paul also put it like this in Gal 1:3-4,  “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus  Christ,  who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil  age, according to the will of our God and Father.”

ix).     He is seen as the Father who bestows His Spirit on us. Jesus promised in John 14:26 “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have  said to you.” Peter saw this as fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:33 “Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Paul wrote of the Father’s gift in Gal 4:6 “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” (cf.,Rom 8:15). Perhaps we need to note those words from Gal 4:6. As we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us, and to make God near and dear to us. It’s the Spirit within us who  produces the desire to cry out “Abba Father”.  Those words are intimate words, and even the most conservative scholars have to admit that the best English translation is “Daddy! “Others dilute it to “Father, dear Father.” But it’s the cry of a young dependent child who loves his or her father and who expresses that love and dependence in this simple cry.

There are perhaps other passages in the scriptures we could turn to that would add to the truths above. But suffice to say that there is enough information about God as Father to recognise Him as such and also to be confident in coming before Him in prayer and addressing Him as “Father” or corporately, “Our Father”.

But it raises a question. Why is it that many find it so hard to trust God or to speak to Him in such personal, intimate language? All of us are affected by our backgrounds. If our family background was that our earthly father or parent was loving, accepting, forgiving, always reliable and dependable, and surrounded us with a wonderful sense of security, then we can more easily relate to God in that way. If our experience of a father (or a mother) was that he was unloving, rejecting, unforgiving, never reliable, undependable, and he surrounded us with insecurity, then we will find it harder to relate to God as a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants the best for us.  Harder but not impossible!

The point I make in Seminars is that we need to thank God for everything good or helpful we experienced in our relationship with a parent. They may not have been perfect, but there were things that we can be grateful for. Then we need to forgive them for everything that wasn’t good or helpful, and that damaged us in any way.  We may never have realised that our inability to trust people or to love someone deeply, began in our early childhood when the person who should have been loving and trustworthy, wasn’t.  But forgiving them and asking God to heal us, releases His wonderful healing into us.  But more about that in future articles!

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY 1.
1). As you look at section 1, how could you encourage someone to recognise from the Old Testament that God is caring?
2). Which verse describing God as “Father” most appeals to you? Why?
3). Why do some folk find it difficult to pray “Our Father” as Jesus encouraged them to do so?
4). How would you try to help someone understand that God loves them as parents love their children?
5). Why do you think that some people go to pieces as they sing songs about God as Father? How could we try to help them?

Blog No.173. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Saturday 30th January 2016

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172. The Prayer That Can Change The World (And You Too!) The Lord’s Prayer. An Introduction

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Jim Holbeck

Prayer is powerful. However strictly speaking it is not prayer itself that changes the world.  Rather it is God Himself Who changes the world and often does it through the prayers of His people.

The Lord’s Prayer is not meant to be just a prayer learned by heart and prayed glibly without thinking. (Though there is nothing wrong with that. All prayer should be a means of expressing our dependence on God Himself and remaining in fellowship with Him.) Rather it is a pattern of prayer taught by Jesus to enable us to bring all our concerns to our Heavenly Father so that He can do something about them.
In the following articles we will look at each section of the prayer to understand afresh just how wide ranging and deep it is.
It is really the prayer you need to pray when you don’t know how to pray. It is also the prayer you are privileged to be able to pray as a child of a loving Heavenly Father. Many believers through the ages have testified that they have received wonderful blessings as they made this prayer the basis on which to build their prayer life and indeed their whole lives.

In the following table we see the two passages which record the words of the Lord’s Prayer in the language of the older King James Version (A.V. Authorised Version) and also in the New International Version of 2011.

Section
 Mat 6:9-13 Luke 11:2-4
1 NIV. “‘Our Father in heaven, KJV. Our Father which art in heaven, NIV.  “‘Father, KJV. Our Father which art in heaven,
2 hallowed be your name, Hallowed be thy name.  hallowed be your name, Hallowed be thy name.
3 (10)  your kingdom come, (10)  Thy kingdom come. your kingdom come. Thy kingdom come.
4 your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.   Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
5 (11)  Give us today our daily bread. (11)  Give us this day our daily bread. (3)  Give us each day our daily bread. (3)  Give us day by day our daily bread.
6 (12)  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (12)  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (4)  Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. (4)  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
7 (13)  And lead us not into temptation, (13)  And lead us not into temptation, And lead us not into temptation.'” And lead us not into temptation;
8 but deliver us from the evil one.’ but deliver us from evil:   but deliver us from evil.
9   For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.    

In future articles we will look at each of these sections in turn to see what they may be saying to us as we seek to live for the Lord in this very complicated and confusing world. We will see that the prayer Jesus taught us to pray can show us how to pray for ourselves. It also shows us how to pray for a world that so much needs to see His wisdom, grace, love and power in action.

Blog No.172.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 28th January 2016

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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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