101. Who is the Jesus Christ of Christmas? Part 1 of 4. Jesus the Creator

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Creator of this universe. Wow, that’s some statement! But a true one! You see, there are some things we need to recognise about creation. One is that no human was there to observe it. Our knowledge of the beginning of the universe has to come from revelation from Someone who was there and not from much later human investigation. The latter can only deal with what already exists rather than with how it came to exist.  Theories about creation will be precisely that, theories.  But Someone was there when it all began. He is the only eye-witness. He has revealed what happened. He says in His revelation that He created the world. The opening verse of His revelation (the Bible) reads, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.   Genesis 1:1.

 Jesus the Creator. God’s revelation goes on in the New Testament to show that God’s agent in creation was His Son Jesus. We get some indication of that in the way Jesus spoke of Himself during His ministry. For example consider some of His sayings. There is that strange phrase in John 8:58 where Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” The “I am” is significant. That is the name that God gave to Moses to describe Himself, Exodus 3:14  God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” Many see that Jesus was applying the name of God to Himself to indicate not only that He existed before Abraham was born, but also that He was equal with God. That’s how His hearers heard Him and they tried to kill Him as a result.

Another statement of Jesus in His prayer to His Father in John 17:5 adds weight to this interpretation, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” Here there can be no ambiguity about Jesus’ words. He was directly claiming to have existed with the Father before creation and to have shared His glory. In addition there are the other “I am’s” of Jesus in which He uses terms of Himself which apply to God Himself, such as “light and life.”

What the New Testament writers thought about Jesus and Creation.

The apostle John. His gospel begins in the same way as Genesis 1:1. However John uses the term “the Word” to describe Jesus as we see in John 1:1,2, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. This Word was the Creator, as the next verse states, 1:3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. Later in verse 10 John describes Jesus as the Creator, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” In case the identity of “the Word” was unclear John describes Him as Jesus in verse 14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. So as far as the apostle John was concerned, Jesus of Nazareth was the creator of everything.

 The apostle Paul. He too clearly recognised Jesus as the Creator. In 1 Corinthians 8:6 he linked together God the Father and Jesus the Son in the act of creation, 1 Cor 8:6  yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. Jesus, Creator of all things. In another passage he described Jesus as being the image of God and the creator of all things visible and invisible. He also added to that by stating that Jesus is the Sustainer of this whole universe, Colossians 1:15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. St Paul then clearly recognised Jesus of Nazareth as being the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe.

 The writer to the Hebrews. The writer not only indicated that Jesus was the Creator of the universe but also added the truth that He sustained the universe He created, Heb 1:1-3. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.  Again the references are unmistakeable references to Jesus of Nazareth.

 What does it mean for us that Jesus is Creator?

We are dependent on Him for our existence. It shows that He can’t be ignored by any human ever born in this universe. Our existence as humans was dependent on Him as Creator of all. Our ongoing existence is dependent on Him for He controls the whole universe. Our future existence is dependent on Him for He holds the future (and our future) in His hands. Our eternal existence is dependent on Him as we will see later, for He ultimately is the judge and our eternal destiny rests in His hands.

We need to become dependent on Him. This is the only way we can receive what He has planned for us in His purposes for the world. It means making Him the Lord and Master of our lives as we will see in Part 3 of our series.  In serving Him as our Creator we are enabled to fulfil our God-given purpose on earth, Ephesians 2:10  For we are His creation–created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. Otherwise our lives will lack purpose and meaning and be of no eternal significance.

 We need to become a willing part of His “new creation”. Paul describes all those who put their trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord as being “in Christ” and part of a “new creation”, 2Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. How does that take place? Paul tells us in 2 Cor 5:15,  (Jesus) died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Life is mean to be lived for the sake of the One who died for us, namely Jesus our Creator, Saviour, and Lord. But more about that in Parts 2 and 3.

Blog No.101.  Jim Holbeck. Posted On Wednesday 12th December 2012

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100. Who is the Jesus Christ of Christmas? (An Overview)

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

We had just finished a Good Friday service. The Cathedral had been reasonably full as it always was for that particular service each year. From Noon to 3pm we had reflected on the meaning of the Seven Words of Jesus from the Cross and had sung some rich hymns interspersed between the readings. I was relaxing at home getting ready for the remaining rush of Easter services. The phone rang and I answered it to hear a woman’s angry voice.  “You spoiled the service for me!” That was the first time anyone had ever said that to me. Fortunately it was also the last. I was surprised because I knew that particular woman had always loved the Good Friday service each year. I wondered what was different about the service just finished that had caused her to be so upset? I didn’t have to wonder for long. She poured forth her grievances. It seemed that I had added something during the service that I hadn’t ever added before. She explained in words like these. “Every year I come to the service thinking about my own sinfulness and how Jesus died on the cross to take away my sins. Then I like to go home and keep reflecting on how sinful I am until I come to church on Easter Day and then begin to rejoice because Jesus is risen. But you spoilt it for me today when you said at the end of the service that we need to remember that Jesus’ death on Good Friday was followed by His resurrection on Easter Day.”

 I then remembered why I had said that during the service. There had been quite a large number of people new to the service. I had felt that if they were never to come to a Christian service again, they needed to hear the whole Gospel message that Jesus’ death for sinners was followed by His resurrection, as God raised Him from the dead on that first Easter morning. If He had not been raised there would have been no forgiveness of sin and no new life for those who would trust in Him as a Living Saviour. There was no really good news if Jesus had died on the cross, been buried and that was the end of the story. He would not have been the victor over sin, death and evil if He had not risen from the dead.

 That day I made a decision. I would never preach a message that was only half-truth. Whenever afterwards that I was to take a Good Friday service I would always mention the good news of the rest of the story seen in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Otherwise it would be a misleading message. It would not be the real truth. It would not be real in two ways.

Firstly, it would not be the real truth about Jesus. His body did not continue to decompose in a tomb in Palestine following His burial. Only hours afterwards, on the third day, He rose from the dead. It means that when we are taking a Christian service in the twenty-first century we can’t allow Him (in our minds) to still be in tomb from our present Good Friday to our present Easter Day. But that’s what the woman who rang me wanted to happen. It’s as though she was saying “I wanted Jesus to be in the tomb until Easter morning. Then I could be happy!”  One can’t ignore reality. The reality is that Jesus died on that first Good Friday and rose again on the first Easter morning and has been alive since that day and is alive for evermore.

Secondly it not the truth about ourselves as followers of Jesus. We can’t go back and live as though we were living in the time between Good Friday and Easter Day. From the first Easter Day and for every Easter day following, Jesus has been the living Saviour. He is the Living Saviour. It means too that because His death and resurrection have made forgiveness available that we can’t go back and concentrate on our sins while waiting for the next Easter Day to be able to rejoice in our forgiveness. Why? Because as believers we have forgiveness for all our sins. It is in Jesus through the blood He shed on the cross almost 2000 years ago.  As Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:7, 8 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8  which he lavished upon us.. . Forgiveness is ours NOW in Him and we are to rejoice every moment of our lives in God’s amazing gift of forgiveness to us in His Son. 

 What I would like to do in forthcoming articles is to look more deeply at who this Jesus Christ of Christmas really is so that we live in the world of reality and not in a world of make-believe or in a world of escapism from the claims upon our lives that come from this Jesus Christ of Christmas. 

Blog No.100.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Wednesday 12th December 2012

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099. John Chapman. 1930-2012. Gospel Lover And Gospel Preacher. A Tribute

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

It was a surprise to learn that John Chapman had passed away. I read the report just after we had arrived back in Sydney from conducting a Healing Mission in Florida. I realised afresh that he had a big part to play in my being invited to do Healing Missions in the Unites States between 1999 and 2012. How? He had supported Dean Lance Shilton’s recommendation that I be appointed the Leader of the Healing Ministry in St Andrew’s Cathedral upon the retirement of Canon Jim Glennon. He was among the first to congratulate me when the appointment was announced. Becoming the Leader of the Healing Ministry opened up new doors for ministry in the USA, and for that privilege I owe a big debt of gratitude to Chappo. It is probably true to say that without his support I might never have been appointed as Leader of the Healing Ministry.  Nor had the privilege of ministering in the USA.

Everyone knew who John Chapman was. I first heard him speak when I was a layman in Brisbane Diocese. He came across to those of us newly converted to Christ as the jovial “Friar Tuck” of the Anglican church. His enthusiasm for the person of Christ, his obvious love for the Bible and his joyous demeanour certainly encouraged a lot of young fellows to seriously consider living and preaching the gospel that he preached. He was a true example of a gospel preacher, a real person without pretence, who loved the Bible, who loved Jesus and who loved people.  When I moved to Armidale to be the Dean of the Cathedral it became obvious that he had made an incredible impact in that diocese during his ministry there. It was always a joyous time for clergy and lay folk when he returned to preach in the diocese.

I saw a different side to his personality some years later. It was during a Preachers’ Conference in Sydney. John with others was to teach on preaching and then do a critique on the sermons of 3 selected participants. I had been chosen to be one of them. I didn’t particularly relish the idea of being “carved up” in front of my peers.  So I tried to do as much preparation as I could to lessen the pain. But some traumatic things took place in the days preceding the conference and I had little time to prepare a sermon. One was ministering to a young mother whose baby had died of brain injuries inflicted by the father. I will always remember the scene at the funeral at the graveside where family gathered in deep sorrow and obvious anger. It was deeply traumatic for all concerned. Another was getting ready for an appointment with a couple for a wedding interview when I desperately wanted the time to get a “good” sermon done.

As I preached that night at the Preachers’ Conference I shared some of the details of what had taken place during the previous week. It meant sharing honestly my deep humiliation when I discovered that the couple I didn’t particularly want to interview for a wedding were wide open to the gospel. Both of them gave their lives to Christ that afternoon. I shared too I had been deeply convicted that I had been more concerned about preaching a “good” sermon at the Preachers’ Conference than I was in spending time to meet the spiritual needs of a needy couple.

When the sermon was over I waited for the “carving”.  Chappo spoke first.  He said, “I’m moved. I’m deeply moved.” That was all he said.  I was astonished. To my mind there was nothing special about the sermon. But as I later reflected on that evening I realised what a spiritual giant of a man John Chapman was, to be touched by a sermon from a virtual nobody. His attitude that night taught me a lot about true humility. John would listen intently for God’s voice as the word of God was preached through all kinds of human instruments. He was humble, always hungry for God to work through him to bring others to Christ. I recognised by contrast that I had been judgmental in my attitude to the couple seeking marriage, seeing the interview as taking up my “valuable” preparation time.  The time spent sharing the gospel was never “wasted time” for John Chapman. It was his life.  It led to thousands of others finding true life in Christ through his ministry.

Like thousands of others around the world I praise God for raising up a man called “Chappo” to accomplish incredible things in His church in Australia and overseas.  Someone once said that the world has yet to see what God can do through a person totally committed to Him. He certainly did an amazing amount through “Chappo’s” dedicated commitment to Him. His courage in presenting the gospel encouraged many. His humility made many of us examine more deeply, our motivation and goals in ministry.

Blog No.099.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Monday 19th November 2012

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098. What Do You Want Jesus To Do For You? Mark 10:35-45

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

(Adapted from a sermon preached at Winter Park, Florida on Sunday 21 October 2012)

We are looking at the words from our Gospel passage. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” (36)  And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” What a probing question from Jesus, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Fifty two years. That’s how long the Wednesday night Healing Service in the Anglican Cathedral in Sydney has been going.  Almost every Wednesday night for 52 years.  In that time, thousands of healings have taken place.  During the services we asked people to put up their hands if they needed prayer for any need they had. Some of our pray-ers would go to those people in the seats and ask them this question. “What do you want the Lord to do for you?” (The same sort of words Jesus used in this gospel passage.) They would tell us and we would pray according to their expressed needs.

I’d like to share just a couple of those healings that remind us that God brings His healings in His way, in His time, to His glory.

1).    THE WIFE A OF A MEDICAL SPECIALIST.  At the Wednesday night Healing Service

The first story is about the wife of a leading surgeon.  She had cancer of the brain. He had been given 2 months off to spend with his wife before she passed away. It was to help prepare him and their 2 young boys for life without her.  He brought his wife to our Healing service in the Cathedral. On the first night we prayed for her she was no more than a vegetable having been assisted into the Cathedral for the service. She looked down for the whole service. The next Wednesday night they attended for the second (and last time). She actually looked up at us as we prayed over her.

The weeks went on and I was saddened to hear after a couple of months that she had passed away. The following Wednesday I noticed the doctor in the Healing service. At the end of the service I went to see him to express my condolences. I was surprised when he said to me, “Jim, did you know she was healed?” I must have looked utterly shocked. You know that some people can be in denial. But here was a medical specialist telling me that his wife had been healed and I knew she had just been buried. He must have seen my shocked expression. He smiled and said “Jim, let me tell you what happened after that second healing service when you prayed for my wife.”

He told me the story. They went home from the service. It seemed as though nothing much had happened. The next morning he woke to find his wife smiling beside him. She was as she had always been, before the cancer took hold of her mind. For the next few weeks she was the wife and lover she had always been to him. She was the beautiful loving mother that she had always been to their 2 young boys. For those 2 months it was as though there was nothing wrong with her. They had the time to enjoy trips and picnics and had a wonderful time together as a family.

At the end of those 2 months, he woke one morning to find his wife dead in bed besides him. He said to me, “But Jim she was healed. She was wonderfully healed for those 2 months. What happened was a miracle. It just can’t happen medically. I lived with a miracle for all those weeks. The last memory I have of my wife is of a woman who loved me deeply. The last memories our boys have of their mother, are of a mother who was fun to be with. A loving mother who loved them so deeply over those 2 months. I will always be grateful to God for the healing He gave to my wife during that time. It was a miracle.  He saw it as time they were given together when it seemed impossible for anything good to happen in their situation.

2).   A DYING BABY. At Our Healing Ministry Centre In Inner Sydney.

This second incident happened at our Healing Ministry Centre in inner Sydney, just a few kilometres from the Cathedral. About 9 pm one evening there was a knock at a side door that was rarely used.  My wife Carole and I were in the room with the Manager and Assistant Manager of our Healing Centre. We opened the door to find a young couple holding a tiny baby that was only hours or days old. They had been told by the specialists at one of our major children’s hospitals that the child could not survive. It would be dead within hours. They told us that they had been given special permission to bring the baby to our Healing Ministry Centre to receive prayer. They came immediately without being able to contact us.

So here was the scene. Four of us in the room with the parents, and a child who would be dead in a few hours. What do you do in such a case?  PRAY! But what to pray? For comfort for the parents or healing for the child? Again it was a case of “What do you want the Lord to do for you?” Their answer was, “We want Him to heal our son.”

We prayed over the little baby asking that God would touch the child in His love and power. Then they left, going out through the same side door to take the child back to the hospital. We heard nothing more. We often talked among ourselves over the following years about what a strange occurrence it was. We wondered what had happened to the parents and the baby.

About 10 years later there was a knock on the front door of our Healing Ministry Centre. We opened it to find a young couple standing there. The man said, “Do you mind if we come in and talk to you for a moment?” When we were seated inside the fellow asked, “Do you remember us?” We had to say, “Well not really? Were you guests here once?” She said, “No, but can you remember the night we knocked on that side door because our baby was about to die?” Of course it all flooded back into our memories. Then pointing to the young 10 year old boy who was with them, she said, “Well, here he is!” He didn’t die. He has no problems at all since that night you all prayed for him.  We just wanted to come back to thank you all for praying for him. God answered our prayers. We were so grateful to God for saving our son’s life that we have now entered into full-time Christian ministry. We are now both Pastors in a Pentecostal church.” 10 years of wondering were solved as they gave testimony to the grace and power of God in saving the life of their child.

The thing we have learned in more than 50 years in the Healing Ministry is that God loves to answer His children’s prayers. As Jesus promised in John 14:13-14, (13)  WHATEVER you ask in my name, THIS I WILL DO, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.(14)  If you ask me ANYTHING in my name, I WILL DO IT. But He does it in His own way and in His time. We need to pray that we will be able to recognise how He brings the answer.

TODAY is another day in which we can know His love and power in our own lives. The Risen Jesus stands among us. As Jesus promised,  “Where 2 or 3 are gathered together in My name, there am I in their midst,”  Mat 18:20. He says to each and every one of us, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Do you want Him to do something about the (USA) nation that it may continue to be a nation whose motto is “In God we trust.” Then tell Him what you want.  Do you want Him to do something about your children or grandchildren caught up in addiction to alcohol, drugs or sex.  Tell Him what you want. Do you want Him to do something for you personally. Your illness or weakness? Your stress and anxieties? Your depression? Your own addiction? As we pray, tell Him what you would like Him to do for you.  Then thank Him that He has heard your prayer and that He will bring His answer in His way and in His time and always to His glory.

Blog No. 098.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Sunday 18th November 2012

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097. Healing a Church, a City and a Nation. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

(Adapted from a sermon preached in Florida on the night of the 2012 Presidential elections.)  (2Ch 7:14)  If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. This verse is often quoted when there is a service to pray for rain. I preached on the verse when I was the Dean of a country Cathedral in Australia which was in the grip of a terrible drought.  Let me share the background and encourage you with what God did in His love and mercy.

1).  A TOXIC SITUATION.  HOW GOD BROUGHT HEALING.

My wife and I and our family had gone to minister in what was normally a very beautiful part of the world.  However a toxic situation had arisen. There had been widespread attacks on a conservative minister who had been elected as bishop. He was the right man for the position but some academics in the city had vented their disapproval of the appointment. Not only that but the previous Dean of the Cathedral had moved on suddenly to the surprise of the parish. We arrived in the beginning of a drought. The farmers had no crops. The sheep were dying in the fields.  The famous Australian gumtrees were dying being poisoned (we were told) by a small beetle. There was desolation everywhere. I went there to be the new Dean of the Cathedral.

A marvellous thing happened a short time later. The ministers in the city got together to pray. We would meet one morning during the week from 6.30am to 7.30am. We gathered together to pray for one another and for the city. We sat in a circle and put what we called a “hot seat” in the middle of the group. Any minister could sit there and ask the rest of us to pray for whatever need they had personally or for their parish. We would gather round and lay our hands on that person for God’s protection and for blessing on their ministry. We wanted the Lord to be exalted in all the churches.

The drought continued. So we began ecumenical services in which we prayed for rain. The first was in our Cathedral and I preached on this passage from 2 Chron 7:14.  At the end of the service we went out into the bright sunshine into a shower of rain. It was a bright blue sky except for a little white cloud immediately over the Cathedral. It was as though God was saying “YES!” to what we were doing.

We worked together to try to win the city for Christ. We invited a Christian motor cycle gang called the God Squad to come and speak to the schools in the city. Dozens were won to Christ. We invited women to come to a mid-week luncheon to hear the evangelist from the God Squad talk to women on what Jesus could do for them and for their families. Seven hundred women came. Dozens of others had to be turned away.

We invited David Watson and his team from York in England to do a mission in the town. We filled the University hall with hundreds of secondary school aged children. Dozens more came to know Christ. Then a very significant thing happened. It was the night of the final public Rally with David Watson and his team. The 1000 seat University Hall was booked out. I was to lead the evening as the Chairman of the Ministers Fraternal. Just as I was about to leave to go to the meeting, I received a phone call to say that a teenage lad whom I knew had been playing squash and had received a direct hit to his eye.  The doctors thought that he would almost certainly lose the sight of that eye. They were worried about the other eye as well. As I opened the meeting I told the crowd what had happened and invited them to pray with me for the young lad. So 1000 people (perhaps a majority being Christians) prayed with me. The next Sunday I told the Cathedral congregation what had happened. Then I asked the young lad to stand up and face the congregation. He had nothing wrong with either of his eyes. God had marvellously healed him. Word quickly went around the whole town of his marvellous healing.

The rains came. The drought was broken. It was as though God had baptised the earth with water to refresh the land and had poured out his Spirit on all the churches in the city. Our evening service grew from a handful to sometimes well over 200, mainly young people gathering together to praise God.  People were coming to the communion rail after the service and giving their lives to the Lord. Others received wonderful healing.

We joined together from all the denominations in the city in processions of witness in the main street of the city singing God’s praises as we went from one church to another in procession. The desolation had gone. The toxicity disappeared as the Spirit of God began to fall on people and a great sense of spiritual refreshment came on the believers in all the churches.  The people of God had become energised by the Holy Spirit of God.

Then it was time to leave that Cathedral to go to the Cathedral in Sydney. Just before we left I was asked to pray for a young woman who hadn’t been able to fall pregnant after 10 years of marriage. IVF treatments hadn’t worked. Humanly speaking there appeared to be no hope she would ever have a child.  I met her and her mother in the Cathedral during the woman’s lunch-break. Her mother and I prayed over her. A few months later her mother rang and said, “We’re going to have a baby”.  The daughter had conceived naturally within a month of our praying together.  It was a great encouragement as we settled into a demanding role in the Cathedral in Sydney.

The whole time in that city in the country reminded me that the Lord is the Lord of this universe. No matter how great may be the toxicity in people’s lives, or in cities or in politics, God can still do His thing if people are willing to be used by Him. IF they humble themselves, and pray and seek God’s face and turn from their wicked ways

2).  GOD WILL BE PRAISED FOR HIS MERCY AND GRACE

I don’t have time to tell you of the amazing things God did in the Healing service in the Cathedral in Sydney during our 18 years there. I repeat WHAT GOD DID! We witnessed what He was doing, as His word was preached.  Let me jump right ahead to 4 years after my retirement from the Healing Ministry in Sydney. I was invited to preach at the 50th Anniversary of the Wednesday night Healing Service. I shared some of the great things God had done in answer to prayer at the service during 50 years. It was a reminder to many present who had come to the service over the years with broken hearts, broken limbs, broken marriages, broken relationships, shattered dreams and God had healed them. I made the point in the sermon that the Healing ministry was God’s ministry. He is the Healer. Then I said these words, “The Healing Ministry is not about Jim Glennon (my predecessor and founder of the ministry). It’s not about Jim Holbeck. It’s not about young Chris.”  (the new Leader). I pointed to the heavens and said, “It’s all about Him!”

And then it happened. Spontaneous combustion. Volcanic eruption. People jumped to their feet shouting out “Alleluia” or “Praise the Lord” or “Thanks be to God”. Many other expressions of praise and thanksgiving filled the Cathedral. Others stood and silently stretched out their hands to heaven. It went on for over a minute and it ceased as quickly as it had begun. I had never seen anything like it in almost 30 years of Cathedral ministry or 42 years in ministry. It was a spontaneous outburst of praise to God. It was as though God had baptised us with an outpouring of joy and love and His healing grace. I was still standing there in a pulpit waiting for the noise to die down, my hand still pointing to the heavens.

No human could have orchestrated such an outburst of praise. It was as though the hearts of the people overflowed with praise and thanksgiving to God for all he had done for them personally over the years. Many of us felt that we were standing on holy ground in the Cathedral that night in the presence of the Risen Lord.  When a Bishop came forward to pronounce the blessing, he said, “That is the most fun I have ever had in this Cathedral.”  It was a moment of glory. It reminded me of the passage in Luke 19 where there had been a spontaneous outburst of praise when Jesus entered Jerusalem. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered in verse 40, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” The stones didn’t need to cry out that night in the Cathedral. The people were released to cry out in their adoration and praise and thanksgiving to God. We returned home praising God that He had been honoured and glorified by His people on that special night in the Cathedral.

Just a little over a week later one of our family members was touched by the Lord and brought into the kingdom of God.  In God he trusted. “In God we trust” was the cry from the people in the country Cathedral as they humbled themselves to pray for rain and for God’s blessing on the city. “In God we trust” was the cry of the people in that 50th Anniversary service in the Cathedral in Sydney as they rose as one person to praise God for their healing over 50 years.

HOW ABOUT TODAY? (The night of the USA elections)

The USA motto is “In God we trust”.  Florida’s motto is “In God we trust”. Tomorrow about half of the people in America will be sad. The other half will be joyful. One of those men Mr Obama or Mr Romney will become the most powerful human in the universe.  But he won’t be able to transform human hearts. He won’t be able by himself to reverse the slide towards secularism or a turning away from God. He will either help or hinder what God wants to do in His world. But no matter how we voted, we will be on the victory side tomorrow as believers. Our God reigns in His universe.

The risen Christ stands among us tonight as the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, the only ruler of princes. He it is who holds the whole universe in His hands. He it is who accomplishes His will through (or sometimes in spite of) the politicians we elect. He is the God who can transform toxic situations and who can transform and heal you and me. It depends on whether we do our part in what He wants to do.  He encourages us in His word, (2Ch 7:14)  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. In response to His challenge to us we can offer Him all we are to be used in his purposes and can receive from Him the healing we need to do His will. Would you pray with me a simple one sentence prayer so that you and I as individuals can be healed to become part of what God wants to do in His world. “Lord Jesus, I invite you to do in me and through me what you wish.  To Your glory.  AMEN”.

Blog No.097. Jim Holbeck.  Posted in Florida. Sunday 11th November 2012

 

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096. The Father God Who Delights To Answer His Children’s Prayers

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

It’s always encouraging to hear how God has answered prayer. Several years ago my wife and I returned to Florida to do a Healing Mission at an Episcopal Church where we had ministered several times before.  We attended church just after we arrived and sat in the congregation. I couldn’t help noticing in my direct line of vision, a young blond haired child lifted up in his mother’s arms. I thought to myself what a bright healthy looking child he was. To my surprise the mother came over at the end of the service and said to me, “Do you recognise me?”  I had to admit her face wasn’t familiar.  She told me, “Two years ago when you were here, I asked you to pray for me. I hadn’t been able to conceive and you prayed that the Lord would enable me to conceive.  Well here is the result!”  As she said the words she held up the little fellow I had seen throughout the service.  It was a great encouragement to us as we began a new mission to see how God had been at work during a previous mission two years before.

At the present moment we are in Florida once again to do another (almost) month-long Healing Mission in the same church. The Rector had kindly invited me to speak at his weekly Sunday Forum which occurs before the last of the 4 morning services. As I was preparing to speak I introduced myself to a woman sitting alone. She said, “Do you remember praying with me some years ago?” Again her face wasn’t familiar. (I think I need to develop a photographic memory!)  She went on to say that some years ago she was suffering third stage cancer in two areas of her body. She had asked for prayer and I had anointed her for God’s healing.  She said that subsequently the Lord marvellously healed her. She no longer has cancer. So once again an encouraging testimony as we began another Mission in the same church.

It made me realise that often we don’t come to know the marvellous things God has done in answer to prayer. When I was the Leader of the Healing Ministry in St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney, Australia, I had the opportunity to go to many cities and country towns around the nation to teach on healing. I was amazed at the number of people who would come up to me and say that they had been to the Wednesday night Healing service in the Cathedral in Sydney some 5 or 10 or 20 years before and received prayer for healing  and had been wonderfully healed as a result. Only a few of those folk had remembered to write and tell us what had happened.

Sharing a testimony of how God has healed us is never a matter of boasting. Whenever the Lord touches anyone’s life with His healing power, it is always due to the His grace, to the outpouring of His love and mercy on those who need His touch on their lives.  So praising Him for a healing we received is exalting Him and not ourselves.  I was pleasantly surprised at the response I received to my last blog which told the simple story which came from a woman in her nineties. Her story obviously touched hundreds of people around the world. I am told that she was delighted that her story has been a blessing to so many. So even in your nineties God can still use you to His glory if you humbly share what He has done in your life with others.

It would be a great thing for the kingdom of God if more of us were willing to share the good things God has done for us in answer to prayer.  People in today’s world are desperate for hope and are longing to see that God is real. Real healings of real people stimulates faith in those who hear of those encounters. To put it in the wonderful words of Psalm 107, 1  Oh, thank GOD–he’s so good! His love never runs out.  2  All of you set free by GOD, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression (The Message).

Blog 096.  Jim Holbeck. Posted from Florida on Friday 2nd November 2012

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095. Real Life Stories. “Just whisper Jesus’ name. He is only a prayer away.”

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

All of us have had significant moments in life. It may have been a chance meeting with a stranger. That meeting helped change the course of our life. Or someone said just one sentence or even a short phrase. As a result our lives were changed forever. I often meet folk who have had some unusual but very significant happenings in their lives. Most of their stories will never be known except to some family members and close friends. I hope in future days to share in these articles some of these stories. Otherwise they might never be known. Today I introduce to you an older woman whom I will call Pam. Pam is now in her nineties. (This is not her real name. She wishes to point readers to the Lord and not have them focus on herself.) This is her story in her words.

 “I was telling my story to the new Parish Priest. He thought I was a bit of a nut at first but by the time I finished, he was the one who told me to write it down for others to read. This is my story.

 Over 50 years ago I had to go from Dubbo to Sydney. It was for a very important family business matter. It was on the night train in those days. I was quite sick. On that train there was only one seat that wasn’t occupied. It happened to be alongside me. I was quite pleased about that. When we got to Blayney, a young woman got in and sat in the seat. She said she had tried to get on the train but there were no seats. Suddenly somehow there was a seat for her. She sat alongside of me and took my hand and said “You’re sick aren’t?” I was very sick and I said, “How do you know?” She replied, “I was sent here to look after you”. She put her hands on my head like a priest giving a blessing, made the sign of the cross on my forehead and said some prayers. I don’t remember what she said. Then she said, “Just whisper Jesus’ name. He is only a prayer away. Go to sleep now. You’re going to be alright.”

 When we pulled into Central Station in Sydney, we got ready to leave the train. She made the sign of the cross on my forehead again and said “Just whisper Jesus’ name. He is only a prayer away”. Then she disappeared and I didn’t ever see her again. That day everything went so smoothly for me. It was like a miracle in itself! I told just a few of my family when I came home.

Then 50 years later, I went with my granddaughter to Scotland. Some of my family came from Scotland, and we were at Lochness. We got off the boat and started to walk towards where we had to wait for the bus or coach back to Edinburgh. Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. I lost my voice and I was staggering. My granddaughter said, “What’s wrong Nan? What’s wrong?”  I couldn’t answer her. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. They got me to a lounge chair in the waiting room where we were to wait for the bus to go to Edinburgh. The room was crowded. A tall woman came over to me. I was still gasping for breath. She put her hands on my forehead like a priest. She made the sign of the cross on my forehead and said “Lord Jesus, take this malady away from this woman and make her whole”. She stood there for a while with her hands on my head. I guess she was saying prayers. Then she said “You’re going to be alright now”.  I replied, “Thank you!” Suddenly I realised I had my voice back again. She said to me, “Just whisper Jesus’ name. He is only a prayer away.” Then she turned and walked back into the crowd and I never saw her again. I said to my grand-daughter “That was a kind of miracle wasn’t it?” She replied, “I know Nan. I saw it and so did a lot of other people.”

 I came home to Dubbo. It took me 50 years to realise I was supposed to do something with this precious message. I asked my youngest daughter if she would type the message for me on cardboard or something and my daughter said, “I’ll do better than that. I’ll laminate them for you!” Some time later she did a hundred or so of them. Later a new Bishop came to Bathurst. A coach-load of people went down to hear him. I knew I just had to go, not to see the Bishop, but to take that special precious message. 

 On the way down I thought that there was no way in the world I was going to do this. Everyone was chattering and having a great time. So I gave out only one to a University student who was sitting alongside of me. She said she was very pleased to get it and said “I will always keep this”. I said to her “I’m sure this message ‘Just whisper Jesus’ name. He is only a prayer away’ will bring you great blessings as it has me.”

 Coming back on the coach, I thought, “How am I going to do this? Everyone was talking away the same as they did on the way down. Yet I knew I was there for a reason. I was meant to bring those laminated messages. I said softly, “Lord Jesus, please, you have to help me. I can’t do this alone.”  All of a sudden the bus stopped. The people stopped talking. I was shaking like a leaf. But I got up to tell them that I felt that I had to do this. I said, “Would you like me to tell you something very special that happened twice in my lifetime“. The bus driver handed me the microphone. So I told them what I have already told you. Then I said, “If you would like one, I have got them in an envelope. I will pass them around.”  I can honestly say that the envelope came back empty. I felt a bit sad because the only person who didn’t get one was the bus driver.

 Many people have said to me since, “I’ve got it on my dressing table, and I say it every day.” I was so pleased to know it was received so wonderfully. But I knew I had to keep on giving them out everywhere I could. On one occasion a man sat alongside of me. I had never seen him before. He was a stranger to town. He must have had Parkinson’s disease as he was shaking so badly. I handed the laminated message to him. I told him what I have told you here. There were tears in his eyes as he said, “Thank you! God bless you! I can’t thank you enough for this! You were meant to talk to me today!”

 On another occasion a lady was sitting several seats ahead of me in the church. I knew she was praying. I slipped in beside her before church started and I gave her the laminated message and told her the story. She said, “You were meant to tell me this today. You were sent to tell me this today. It is what I really needed. Have you any more?” I said, “Yes!”  She said, “I have three sons, could I have one for each?” Of course I gave them to her.

 Then just before Easter last year at the Lenten prayer meeting in my daughter’s home in Dubbo, everyone was telling different things that happened in their lives. I shared my story. When I mentioned that some people might think it was a coincidence that the bus stopped, a very well educated gentleman in the small group said, “My dear, that was no coincidence, it was meant to happen!”

I was personally blessed as I read Pam’s story above. We often think that the important people, the brilliant people, have the greatest impact for God in this world. But Pam’s story shows that He uses ordinary people who want to be used by Him. God placed ordinary people in Pam’s path who brought His blessings into her life. She in turn humbly began to share the blessing she had received with others whom God had brought into her everyday situations.

As I wrote in a previous article, God does use people in His purposes. But it is not just their ability that is the important factor. Rather it is their avail-ability to Him which determines whom He can use to impart His blessings. Pam’s story motivates me to use all the abilities He has given me to live for Him. Yet at the same time it reminds me that I am only useful to others if I am available to Him.

Blog No.095.  Jim Holbeck. Posted on Friday 21st September 2012

 

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094. Galatians 6 outline. Paul Sums Up His Epistle. Freedom Not Bondage!

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

In this final chapter Paul summarised much of what he had written in the previous chapters. He wanted the believers in Galatia to walk in victory and not return to the legalism being advocated by the false teachers. The latter wanted the believers to become “real believers” by becoming Jews first, especially by urging the believers to be circumcised. Paul saw that as a denial of the gospel message.

Paul had written that believers were to follow the command to “love their neighbour”, 5:6, 13, 14. In this chapter he outlined how that might happen in practice.

Paul concluded the epistle by contrasting the self-seeking motives of the false teachers with his own motives. The false teachers wanted to see the believers “marked” with the mark of circumcision to show how they had influenced the Galatians to follow their teaching. By contrast Paul wrote that he was already marked. He was marked with scars. These were the scars that came from being persecuted for his faith in Jesus.

A).     HELPING OTHERS, BUT NOT BURDENING THEM.  6:1-5

i).  Believers were to help one another walk in victory. (1)  Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

ii).  But they were to be careful not to get trapped in sin themselves. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

iii). Believers were to bear each other’s burdens without unlovingly “dumping stuff” on fellow believers. (2)  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.(3)  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (4)  But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbour. (5)  For each will have to bear his own load.

B).    DOING GOOD TO EVERYONE.  6:6-10

i).   Doing good to teachers. (6)  One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. (7)  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

ii).  Doing good brings blessing. (8)  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (9)  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

iii).  Doing good to everyone as occasion arises. (10)  So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone,

iv).  Doing good especially to brothers and sisters in Christ. and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

 C).    A PERSONAL NOTE. 6:11

Paul adds this personal note to show how concerned he was for the believers in Galatia. This had to go out with his personal touch and not by the less personal hand of an amanuensis. (11)  See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

 D).    CONTRASTING FLESH AND SPIRIT. FALSE TEACHERS AND PAUL. 6:12-18

i).   The wrong motivation of the false teachers.  (12)  It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

ii).  The hypocrisy of the false teachers. (13)  For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

iii). The right motivation of Paul. (14)  But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

iv).  The necessity of the new creation in Christ. (15)  For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

v).  The blessing of God on faithful believers. (16)  And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

vi). Paul was a marked man. He was not referring to the marks of circumcision. Rather his marks came from being persecuted. He suffered because he was not ashamed of the cross. (The false teachers were!)  (17)  From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.(18)  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

(Please note that outlines of the previous chapters may be found by clicking on these links.  Chapters 1,  2,  3,  4, 5.

Blog No. 094. Jim Holbeck. Posted on Thursday 20th September 2012

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093. Galatians 5. Outline. The Choice We Face. To Live God’s Way Or Our Way?

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

Paul here describes the gospel message. He states that these facts were true.

  • Christ has set believers free. They are not to go back under slavery to the law of the Old Testament.
  • The false teachers were trying to get the Galatian believers to observe the law as a mean of getting right with God and staying right with Him.
  • Paul reminds his readers in 5:1 that there are free already in Christ, and have to stand in that freedom by rejecting the false teachers. Later he tells them to live in that freedom 5:13.
  • His readers have the freedom to choose to walk by the Spirit or to live by the dictates of their old flesh nature, 5:16-26.

A. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN GOD’S WAY AND HUMAN’S WAY. 5:1-6

GOD’S  WAY OF FAITH.   SPIRIT
HUMAN WAY OF WORKS.  FLESH
FREEDOM. (1)  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore,
SLAVERY. And do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
(2)  Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision,
  • Christ will be of no advantage to you.
(3)  I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that
  • he is obligated to keep the whole law.
  • (4)  You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law;
  • you have fallen away from grace.
(5)  For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
(6)  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

B.   THE PROBLEMS BROUGHT IN BY THE FALSE TEACHERS . 5:7-9

  • They had a negative effect on the believers in Galatia, (7)  You were running well.
  • They were a hindrance to believers obeying the truth. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
  • The pressure they put on believers was not from God. (8)  This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
  • Their evil influence could spread. (9)  A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

 C.    PAUL’S CONFIDENCE AND WISH. 5:10-12

  • He trusted God to protect them. (10)  I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
  • (11)  His critics accused him of having the same message. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. But the fact they persecuted him showed he didn’t.
  • He wanted His readers to be free of the influence of false teachers. (12)  I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

D.  CHRISTIAN FREEDOM TO LOVE OTHERS AND TO LIVE FOR GOD.  5:13-19

HOW FREEDOM BEHAVES. In a loving way!  (13)  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (14)  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (15)  But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

THE CHOICE IN CHRISTIAN LIVING. To walk (live) by the flesh or to live by the Spirit.

The advantages of walking by the Spirit.

  • Victory over the flesh nature. (16)  But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
  • The Spirit helps believers in their victory over their flesh nature. (17)  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
  • Allows one to walk in freedom. (18)  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  (19)  Now the works of the flesh are evident:

E.  THE WORKS OF THE FLESH.  THE OLD NATURE.  HUMANS APART FROM GOD.    UNREGENERATE.  NOT BORN AGAIN. 5:19-21

IN THE SEXUAL SPHERE.  Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality. As Jesus said, sin is in the thought life as well.
IN THE RELIGIOUS SPHERE. (20)  idolatry. Sorcery. Worshipping other gods and dabbling with the powers of darkness.
IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE. ……  enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  21  envy, (drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.)  Anti-social behaviours which were inappropriate and unnecessary for believers.  
IN THE DRINKING SPHERE. Drunkenness, orgies and things like these.

THE CONCLUSION: I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Continual living in this way is an indication they have not been born of the Holy Spirit of God.  Such ongoing behaviour shows they are not in the kingdom of God.)   (22)  But the fruit of the Spirit is

F.   THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. 5:22-23. (The outward evidence of the life of God within the believer). 

love,  joy, peace.   Jesus spoke of the disciples sharing His love, joy and peace. 

Patience, kindness.  The attitudes one should and can adopt to others by the grace of God. 

goodness, faithfulness (23) gentleness,  self-control; against such things there is no law. The inner qualities made available to believers by the Holy Spirit in the grace of God. 

 G.    A  FINAL REMINDER OF WHO THEY WERE IN CHRIST. 5:24-26

Through their faith-union with Christ they were dead to the old. (Cf., Gal 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ …. .)   5:24  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

They were now alive to God. The Spirit gave them life. Now He could guide them to walk in God’s way. (25)  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

They were brothers and sisters in Christ in the same family of God.  (26)  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

  • (They had all received the Holy Spirit to enable them to come equally into God’s family. There was no room for pride.  It was all from God’s grace.
  • They had all received the Holy Spirit to enable them to live in love for one another. They could love with God’s love, Romans 5:5. When love is flowing, provocation ceases. 
  • They had all received the Holy Spirit. There was no need to envy others in the family who had also received the same gift.   

(Please note that outlines of previous chapters can be found by clicking on chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3 and chapter 4 or by looking at the Index on the right hand side of the site. )

Blog 093.  Jim Holbeck.   Posted Monday 17th September 2012

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092. Galatians 4. Overview. The Freedom Of The Children of God.

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Jim Holbeck

In chapter 3 we saw that the blessing of Abraham referred to the promise of the Holy Spirit who was to be to be received by Gentiles who trusted in Christ.  (3:13)  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”– (14)  so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. They would be seen as Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise, 3:29.

 In Chapter 4 Paul shows what was the purpose of God in giving the law, and how Christ came to set people free from the Law as a means of getting right with God. Gentile believers were part of God’s family, children of God and heirs of the promise of the gift of the Spirit given to Abraham. He bids them to remember what God has done for them in Christ and not look for another way of being right with God. There was no other way. Jesus was the way.

1).        REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST! Children of God not slaves to the law. 4:1-10

  • Heirs might own everything but while children they are unable to appropriate all that is potentially theirs. 4:1)  I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything
  • Heirs need guidance as children until they are ready to inherit their blessing, their inheritance. (2)  but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.
  • Heirs as children are subject to the same restrictions as slaves. (3)  In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
  • Heirs receive their inheritance at the time set by the father. God did the same for His children. He gave them a promise but it was to be released in His timing. Jesus came at the fullness of that time. (4)  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
  • Jesus came to enable believers to receive their inheritance. He died to release them to receive their inheritance, adoption into God’s family. (5)  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
  • As heirs they received their inheritance. God gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit. (6)  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
  • Redemption by Jesus meant that they entered into the privilege of sonship (7)  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
  • Redemption by Jesus had set them free from other powers or principles in the world. (8)  Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. (9)  But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God,
  • To listen to false teachers would be to place themselves under bondage again. how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
  • To return to legalism would render Paul’s ministry among them of no value. (10)  You observe days and months and seasons and years! (11)  I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

2).        REMEMBER HOW GOD BLESSED YOU THROUGH ME

  • Paul had come among them in weakness. (12)  Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. (13)  You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first,
  • They had responded to his message of Jesus. They saw Paul as a messenger from God.  (14)  and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
  • What then has become of the blessing you felt? You would have done anything for me in your appreciation of receiving the message that set you free.  15 For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.
  • Friends always share the truth though it may not always be appreciated. (16)  Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?

3).        REMEMBER MY MOTIVATION. IT WAS TO BUILD YOU UP, NOT TO USE YOU

Paul ministered to them out of a concern to bring them into the kingdom and to “build them up” in the Lord. By contrast the false teachers were trying to “butter them up” as a means of gaining advantage for themselves.  (17)  They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.

  • Motivation was the key. Was ministry offered as coming from God or was it offered from selfish purposes as the false teachers were doing? (18)  It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,
  • Paul would not give up on them. He wanted to help them to come to maturity in Christ. (19)  my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
  • Paul wanted them to know how genuinely concerned he was for them. (20)  I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

 4).        REMEMBER WHAT THE LAW OF GOD ACTUALLY SAYS

It spoke of freedom and slavery. Notice the contrasts in the table below.

The Promise given to Abraham. Freedom

The promise of the Law. Slavery
(22)  For it is written that Abraham had two sons ……..  and one by a free woman. (22)  For it is written that Abraham had two sons one by a slave woman……….
while the son of the free woman was born through promise. (A miraculous natural conception and birth through Sarah) (23)  But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, (A human arrangement using Hagar and not what God had planned for Abraham)
(24)  Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. (One was a covenant based on law and the other a new covenant based on grace, and predicted in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Represented by Sarah.) (26)  But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. (Freedom for those in a heavenly or spiritual Jerusalem for those in the new covenant.) One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. (25)  Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.(The law was given on Mt Sinai. The law promised life and freedom but brought death and bondage because people could not fulfil it perfectly. )The Jews who rejected Jesus (represented by those in Jerusalem) were still under law, not grace,  and in slavery to it.
The progeny of Sarah  (the children of faith) would number all those who trusted in Christ throughout the world and throughout all generations.  (27)  For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” The children of Hagar (those in slavery to the law), those Jews who would not believe in Jesus as their Messiah would be less in number than Sarah’s progeny.
Christian believers are the true sons of Abraham, of faith, and recipients of the promise of Abraham (the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit). (28)  Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. The Judaisers and those who relied on the law persecuted those living under the grace of God in Christ.). (29)  But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
Believers were the true children of Abraham and of Sarah, and of the freedom given by the Holy Spirit.  (31)  So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.  Those relying on the law as a means of getting and being right with God were in slavery to sin and to the law and were rejecting what God had done in Christ.God’s purpose was through Sarah and her son Isaac through whom God’s promises should come.  Hagar and Ishmael were not in God’s purpose for the blessing to Abraham’s descendants.  Those who relied on the law could not inherit the blessing promised to those who were meant to believe. (30)  But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”

5).        REMEMBER THIS!  “YOU ARE FREE IN CHRIST!”  All believers including the Galatian believers were the children of the free woman Sarah though whom God’s promise would come, to be received by faith.  (31)  So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

Blog No.092.  Jim Holbeck.  Posted on Monday 17th September 2012

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