Committed

 

Bible verse for today:

Jesus Christ gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.

Titus 2:14 NLT

Cause for worship

 

“Let us be thankful and please God by worshipping Him with holy fear and awe”    Hebrews 12

 

When God shakes the earth and heaven, it will be to remove the dross and establish the eternal.

      What should I do in the days granted to me?

             Worship Him in spirit, soul and body!

 

As I begin to understand God in reference to eternity, I worship with holy awe.

-      He is eternal, knowing all things, seeing all people.

-       He is sovereign over all things with good providence

-        He is judge of all, bringing all persons to account

-          He is gracious, having acted to redeem all people

 

As I begin to understand myself and my world, I worship with holy fear.

-      I am finite, limited in understanding and knowledge

-       I belong to a rebellious family in Adam

-        I deserve eternal damnation because of my sin

-          I can be right with God through Jesus Christ His Son

 

O the wonder of it all, that God so great has put in place salvation for all who will accept Jesus as God’s Son, the Saviour for all. He then places the believer in His Eternal kingdom, as heirs with Christ forever.

 

May God’s grace be with you all.

The call to Christian living

 

A Bible verse for today:

“Try to live in peace with everyone and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”  Hebrews 12:14

 At such a time as this, how shall we react to the chaos around us?

 

This command starts out so gentle – and so it was that the Lord Jesus was meek and lowly – not proud and forceful.

Then the call of God is to repent of sin and godless ways – and so it was that the holy life of the Lord Jesus and His care for others became the ridicule of the servants of satan.

Finally, the truth of eternity is applied – the unholy will be forever separated from God – His love, His favour, His illumination. And so it was when the Lord Jesus opened His mouth, words of grace flowed to those seeking the LORD, but also words of truth that caused unbelievers to know clearly  that hell was for real.

 

Lord God Almighty, keep me focused on HIM, to be like HIM in purity, love and truth speaking.

Evangelism

 

Evangelism encouragement

I am encouraged in recent times by the increased interest in evangelism.

To Timothy Paul wrote :- “do the work of an evangelist” . I discern that Timothy was a teacher with limited courage, but he was exhorted to step out of his comfort zone and make known the Gospel to those who needed it most. 2 Timothy 1-4

      Interestingly, it is Christian women who have stepped up, to reach out in Toowoomba. Women from a prayer group now operate a monthly market stall giving away many Bibles etc. People from many, many nations attend for their fruit and vegetables. After Six hours of evangelism they are encouraged.

Others make blankets for the babies of migrant mothers.

Others visit the people in their homes, helping with English and citizenship, and looking for opportunities to speak the truth about Jesus the Saviour and Lord.

Others teach Religious instruction at state schools

But the question remains – Where are the men?

Seems as though many hide behind the facade of church and church programs. A few venture to teach RI. It is not hard to put Gospel leaflets in letterboxes, to post a Gospel verse on face book, to give a Bible to the many who are seeking them. Opportunities still exist to connect with the community at markets. And of course, the Bible way  - using hospitality to befriend and share the Gospel by life and conversation.

  But all this is in vain if the motivation is missing:

-      To love as God loves   John 3:16

-      To be constrained as public ambassadors by the love of Christ    2 Corinthians 5

 

There are plenty of other reasons why we should obey the Lord’s command – the need of the lost, the command to go, the unifying value of evangelism, the impact on the community conscience, the restraint upon other religions  etc

Isaiah had it right – “ Here am I send me”  Isaiah 6,

“Present your bodies a living sacrifice” Romans 12:1

johnmckee@internode.on.net

First Love to Christ

 

The priority of ‘First love’

All the Bible study, all the Christian service, all the sanctity of holy living is in vain without ‘First love.’  It is a  love above all others for Jesus Christ the Lord – first in time, first in priority, first in every way.

         The greatest commandment “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all your heart……………….”  This command takes on greater meaning since God the Father has been revealed in His Son.

    Now we love Him because He first loved us, and the song of heaven is – “unto Him who loved us and has redeemed us to God by thy blood”  (Revelation 5)

This priority of love for Christ, puts all other loves into perspective.

The poet put it well:-

 

         Lord Jesus I love Thee

         I know thou art mine

         My Rock and my Fortress

         My Surety Divine

 

My gracious redeemer

         My song shall be now

         Tis Thou who art worthy

         Lord Jesus tis Thou

 

Anything more important than Him is an idol!

 

To know Him ( through the Bible  and the experiences of life) is to love  Him (pure , worshiping love), with all our heart.

-        1  Worship

o   2  Adoration

§  Surrender

·      Service

Reference  :   Revelation chapter 2

Faith

 

A verse for today

‘It is impossible to please God without faith.

Anyone who wants to come to Him, must believe there is a God and that He rewards those who sincerely seek HIM.’

Hebrews 11

Faith always has an object – faith in the unseen living Lord God, faith in the once crucified , now risen Lord Jesus.

Life abundant

 

“That Christ might dwell in your hearts by faith…. Filled with all the fulness of life and power that comes from God…To live for the glory of God”

  ( Bible Ephesians 3)

Positive :-  God has planned and enabled the best for all

Negative :- Living independent of the LORD God is idolatry.

 

    There’s a way back to God from the dark paths of sin

     There’s a door that is open and all may go in

       At Calvary’s cross is where you begin

         When you come as a sinner to Jesus.

 

“Behold I stand at the door and knock

If anyone hears My voice and open the door , I will come in……..”

 (Revelation 3.20)

 

“Today if you will hear His voice , harden not your heart”

( 2 Corinthians)

My reading this morning

 

“As it is destined that each person must die, and after that comes judgement, so also Christ died once as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, but not to deal with our sins again.  This time He will come to bring salvation to all those who are eagerly waiting for HIM.”  (Hebrews 9:27)

      

     ‘ Even so come Lord Jesus’

Hope in a hopeless world

 

What makes the Christian message so different to others?

It is that Jesus, who sacrificed Himself on the cross, this same Jesus is now alive in heaven  interceding before God for all who put their trust in Him.

Without HIM, people are very vulnerable to human violence, to the inability to cope with life. Hence the high suicide rates in our modern society.

        For those who recognize God, accountability to Him can be a fearful thing especially if one is trying to appease Him by one’s own effort.

BUT the good news is that Jesus Christ the Lord, has paid the debt of our sins and now He lives forever as our Saviour, our Redeemer, our Great High Priest in God’s presence!

 

“Christ was once offered for sins, the just for the unjust to bring us to God”  1 Peter 3:18

 

        For those who ignore this, or live independent of HIM, or worse, denying HIM as the Son of God -  their future is eternal destruction.

 Life then has no valid meaning and the future without hope.

Today

“HE is able to save completely  all that draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  “  Hebrews 7:25

Seek Him today!

continued

 

Jesus Christ our Lord

 

Jesus - the SON

 

Letting the sunshine of Bible truth illuminate the day:

Hebrews 3

“And so dear brothers and sisters, who belong to God and are bound for heaven, think about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s Messenger and High Priest………….” nlt

This is the summary of the next eight chapters.

We are called into this holy consideration of Jesus, not as academic critics, but as blessed participants.

Jesus the sent one – as the Apostle from God, the Divine messenger

Jesus the interceding one  - High Priest in God’s presence for God and for us.

This part of the Bible is so full of detail about the Lord Jesus Christ ;- His person as the Son

His mission on earth

His achievement by death

His work in heaven

His glory and power in the future

 

It causes me to worship with few words

“My Lord and my God”  (John 20)

Salvation

 

God’s voice to me this morning:

Hebrews 2

“How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation”

Such is the fulness of salvation through God’s Son, it grants forgiveness, access to the throne of God in prayer, hope in this life and the next, and a place in that heavenly place where the Son (Jesus Christ) is seated at the right hand of God. How?

I quote a Bible verse

“ The Lord Jesus Christ gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us and to make us His very own people totally committed to doing what is right”  Titus 2

Escape damnation - only by faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son

johnmckee@internode.on.net

@avoiceinthewilderness-r7z

Jesus the exalted one

 To the Son He says:

"Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal power is expressed in righteousness.
You love what is right and hate what is wrong, therefore God, your God has annointed you, pouring out the oil of joy on you more than on anyone else"" Hebrews 1:8
Just as Jesus the Son is filled with joy and gladness, so we in Him can rejoice with joy unspeakable.
We too must love what is right and hate what is wrong in a world that does not know the difference. We too must use God's power to do right things.
Then our praise will ascend "Thine is the kingdom, and the power , and the glory, forever - Amen"

The name Jesus

 

The greatness of our Lord

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwmasL2v2gc

you may need to copy and paste into browser

Motivation to reach the lost

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYfn7MhcOo8   -  The Love of Christ

you might need to copy and paste

Looking upward

 

My meditation this morning

Psalm 50:23  “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honours God”

Thanks to God, to others is a Christian distinctive. Many of the cultures around us do not have a word or concept of “thank you”.

We have so much to thank the Lord God for, and instead of living on the horizontal plane, thanksgiving turns our eyes heavenward where nothing spoils our hope, our home.

        “always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Ephesians 5:21

God in action

 

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Please let me explain. There is only one true and living God, creator of all, to whom all humanity is accountable. Although He is very great, His personal interest in this world, is very active. He is not so much interested in the world systems, but rather the people He created for connection with Himself.

          Something went wrong and most of the people of the earth live in disconnect from God. Judgement would justly invoke punishment, but God chose to present His final remedy – not in the law given by Moses, nor the voice of the godly prophets or the faltering kings. No. God has spoken finally in the visible, tangible presence of His Son Jesus the Christ.  The Son perfectly represents God the Father.

Jesus did much more than teach. He chose to live in real humanity.

Only one person could be described as ‘the only begotten Son’ – Jesus. It means – existing before He was born of Mary, abiding in the bosom of the Father, coming forth to uniquely show what God is like.

 “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world”

He came more than 2000 years ago – some received Him, many rejected Him.

God announced from heaven “This is my Beloved Son, listen to Him” (Mark 9:7)

          Then and now, the vital element for connecting with God is to receive His Son, believe in Him, trust Him. Faith focused on Him is the means to forgiveness, justification, sanctification, eternal life. Believing in Him produces behaviour that pleases Him – born from above into the family of God!

‘Whosoever ‘ means everyone. The promise given is sure for all who believe on the Son , our Lord Jesus Christ.

‘Believeth’ is present continuous tense – continuing to live by faith in Him.

‘Should not’ is in old English quite definite, not doubtful.

‘Perish’ – more than a wasted life. The consequences of sin and unbelief are severe and eternal. Not loss of being, but rather loss of well being.

‘Eternal life’ – more than a good life now. God’s design is for each believer  is to be in His family, in his home (Heaven) with joyful connection to God forever.

          A nurse I know, sat beside a dying unbeliever. As he passed away his face was contorted with extreme horror. The same nurse sat beside a dying unconscious believer. He awoke for a moment, his face beamed with delight and then he was gone.

 

          What have you done with the greatest expression of God’s love? Will you receive “the Son” and be assured of the promise of eternal life?

 

Another promise describes the extent of God’s love:

“God showed His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  ( Romans 5:8)

 

“ This is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT)

Promises

 

Peace by Promises

Jesus can still the storm, but often He chooses instead, to go through the storm with us.

Compare the Bible records – Mark 6:39 to Acts 27

One is the power of His person stilling the storm.

2^nd  is the promise of His presence through the storm.

Most of us would rather the storm be stilled. But the will of God is not always so. If we are surrendered to God, He is often achieving something through us which involves storms e.g. Mark 14:34. Many Christians take the easy path by self interest being first, but for those walking with the Lord, a cross to bear, a storm to endure, a loss, a disappointment, a misunderstanding  is inevitable.

     So how can I have peace in the storm?

Many have promoted the idea that ‘that if I do the right thing then God will look after me and make life a success.’ (Deuteronomy 28).

I too thought so, until an experience sent me to the Bible where I discovered being faithful to the Lord, to truth, to righteousness would incur storms, trouble etc. Hebrews 11 records many godly, faithful people who endured storms.

         How did they not blame God? How did they maintain faith?  They accepted the promises of God as real, relevant and finally rewarding.

So today we are intended to endure tribulations, persecutions, weakness and death by clinging to the promises of out LORD, or more precisely , by clinging to the Sovereign LORD Himself!

Even to become “more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37)

 

Act 27:26 Paul said in the middle of the storm “I believe God, that it will be just as He said”

2 Peter 1 reminds us of great and precious promises to enable us to live above the world of decadence and despair.

 

Media and medicine want us to “feel good”  - so we often judge God by how we feel . This is a deception. Paul put it better.  “though our outward man (body) perish, the inward man (spirit) is renewed day by day.

Sometimes I take mineral tablets to calm my mind (PPMP) and medicine to heal my wounds. But the greater essential is to spend time alone with the Lord , appropriating His promises, the promise of eternal life, and to rest in His abiding presence.

 

If we could see beyond today as God can see

If all the clouds should roll away, the shadows flee,

O’er present griefs we would not fret

Each sorrow we would soon forget

For many joys are waiting yet

For you , for me.

.

.

If we could see, if we could know, we often say

But God in love a veil doth throw across our way

We cannot see what lies before

And so we cling to HIM the more

He leads us till this life is o’re

Him we will trust  and  obey.

The call to truely love Him

 

Most daily devotionals give a positive spin. Jesus Christ the Lord issues many challenges. For example

“If a person is ashamed of Me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of My Father with the holy angels” ( Mark 8.38)

 

Many Christians are bold in the cocoon of church. Christ calls us to be bold for HIM in this evil world.

Focus

 

“Forgetting the past, looking forward to what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13

Again: : “Forgetting the things which are behind, reaching forth unto those things which are before” KJV

Our past is not to define us (Paul’s time of persecuting the Christians could have haunted him).

By the kindness and grace of God, the past can be forgiven ( as we confess the wrong and let it go).

 The God of hope promises to take care of tomorrow (Matthew 6,7), and better still, He promises to all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, eternal life beyond death’s door.( John 10)

So we need to focus on the future.  I admit the present world system is rather depressing, but it is altogether uplifting when the LORD in given control in our lives. His promises are sure. His purposes are good.

He alone can rightly say “Trust ME”.

Heart devotion

 

The penetrating teaching of Jesus Christ the Lord:

“These people honour me with their lips

   But their heart is far away

  Their worship is a farce

       For they replace God’s commands with their own man made teaching.”    Bible – Mark 7:6

 

Wisdom says:  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”    Proverbs 4:23

 

The Holy Spirit says:   “ That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith” or again  “ That Christ may be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in HIM.”  Ephesians 3

 

Way beyond religious beliefs and observances is this holy possibility – the Lord Jesus Christ abiding in our hearts. This is the part of our being where we decide (will),  we love (affection), our motives, the spring of worship (devotion) !

 

 

Please read the significant Bible verse John 14:20 – 26.  Knowing Christ is far more than national religion, church adherence, creeds and rituals. HE has promised to personally live with those who truely love HIM.

 

For the students – trace the recurring mention of the ‘heart’ in Deuteronomy and then the New Testament.

God's love

 

Message made in memory of Robert Spurling – something like his preaching fourty years ago.

Our text today is Romans 5.8

“God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”

This well known verse has brought hope to many lost souls. Many men and women have wandered helplessly through life , until they discovered God’s true love meeting their need.

              The idea of need – well most of us thought we were ok -enjoying ourselves as youngsters, trying to fit in with the gang, going our own way. But when God steps into the equation, we discover our sin, our need of forgiveness, heading for a lost eternity. In fact, when we let the Bible speak, we find ourselves in danger of hell and the lake of fire.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages if sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

So we have all sinned , but God wants to give us eternal life.

 God is holy – and can by no means clear the guilty.

   God is love – even loving guilty sinners bound for hell.

     He saw us in our need  - guilty and unable to save ourselves.

It is just like a person in the ocean, unable to swim, drowning without hope. But then a lifesaver throws out a lifebuoy with a rope to pull it in. All the drowning man has to do, is to cling to the lifebuoy.

     God the lifesaver saw our predicament and sent His Son to be the Saviour!

      Such was the problem of sin, it needed a sacrifice to take our sin away. None other was good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of  heaven to let us in.

 

1 Corinthians 15.3  “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, He was buried and He rose again the third day according to the scriptures”

      Now the debt has been paid, all that God wants us to do , is to reach out to the lifebuoy (Christ) and let the lifesaver save us. The empty hand of faith says – I cannot save myself, I am not good enough for heaven, my sins deserve eternal death, but Jesus died for me.  So I reach out and take Jesus as my Saviour . He died for me, so I will trust Him to get me in the gate of heaven.

The promise holds true – John 1.12  “ To as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His Name.”

 

    But remember the opportunity to receive salvation is brief.

“what is your life? It is but a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away!”   (James 4.14)

None of us   know the day of our death so:

“Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Some put if off till later but the cry is real:

‘too late , too late will be the cry, Jesus of Nazareth has passed by’. Hell is full of procrastinators. Today make Jesus Christ your choice:

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved”    (Romans 10:9)

 

A concluding Hymn of warning

 

‘Almost persuaded, now to believe

 Almost persuaded Christ to receive

  Seems now some soul to say?

    ‘Go Spirit go thy way

       Some more convenient day

         On thee I’ll call’

Call today and make the Lord you lifebuoy!

Evangelism

 

Meditation this morning

Bible – Mark 4

Jesus also said : “ Here is another illustration of what the kingdom of God is like : A farmer planted seeds in a field, and then he went on to other activities. As the days went by, the seeds sprouted and grew without the farmers help, because the earth produces crops on its own. First a leaf of blade pushes through,  then heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle”

 

What am I learning today? After a very busy seven hours of evangelism yesterday, we can rest in this teaching of the Master – the good seed of the Word of God will, in God’s time yield a harvest. Thank the Lord it does not depend on us. How blessed to be in His hand to reach out to many who have never heard the Gospel, never had a Bible and don’t know who Jesus is.

In the day of harvest, may He get the praise and the glory.

Voice of Praise

 

The song of Moses

“……  I will proclaim the Name of the LORD.

How glorious is our God!

He is the Rock;  His work is perfect.

Everything He does is just and fair.

He is a faithful God who does no wrong:

How just and upright is He….”

 

Then  the interruption of human failure

 

Then the conclusion

“ Rejoice with him , O heavens and

Let all the angels of God worship  Him.

For He will avenge the blood of His servants.

He will take vengeance on His enemies and

 cleanse the land and His people.”  Deuteronomy 32

 

 Now from the New Testament;

-          Because of human unbelief:

“I will take vengeance

I will repay those who deserve it….

It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10)

 

But God in grace:

 

“ And now may the God of peace,

who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,

 equip you with all you need for doing His will.

May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ,

all that is pleasing to Him.

Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed with His own blood.

To Him be glory forever and ever . Amen.”  (Hebrews 13)

Eternity

 

How important to be prepared for the end and beyond

Crucifiction

 

RI yesterday – a question from a thinking child.

“Why did the people hate Jesus and cry out “crucify Him?””

That’s a good question when we remember Him as a good man doing good things.

Let the Lord Jesus answer for Himself:

“It does hate me because I accuse it of sin and evil” (John 7:7)

 

For example:

“Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired” (Matthew 6)

“ Don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly”

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth.”

“Stop judging others”

“ Don’t worry about tomorrow”

 

Some of this makes one feel uncomfortable and for the leaders, who were lovers of money and fame, instead of repenting, they sought to destroy Jesus.

But more than His teaching – He who was known as the ‘carpenter’s son from Nazareth’ had gained many followers. The leaders became very jealous of His popularity.

 

Finally , the unbelieving leaders refused to accept the great claim of Jesus :- that He was the Son of God, the Messiah. They chose rather to accuse Him of blasphemy  and condemned Him to death. (Mark 14)  The wise men knew better – they bowed down and worshiped the child Jesus.

     And so it happened that the voice of the misguided crowd prevailed and the Roman governor sent Jesus out to be crucified.

 

By human terms a tragedy, but under the sovereign working of the LORD God, a triumph – the tomb is empty!

Making a difference

 

How can you affect the elections ?

Well you may choose to vote  - yes

Better, you may take time to pray  - yes please

You can waste time criticising people and parties

But there are positive ways to effect change!:

    Teach children the Word of God. Soon they will be teenagers and then adults voting.  Most get their morals and sense of discernment from screens – TV, Smartphones, Cinemas  etc.  Movies have been designed to manipulate the minds of the masses – with great success.

Teaching our families Bible truths is vital. But beyond that, teaching children in schools is a brilliant opportunity to teach good morals, teach wisdom, teach God’s laws and best of all lead them to Christ.

In many churches Religious Instruction in schools is considered a ‘non-event’. How sad to miss the way of the Master who stopped the crowd to bless the children and commanded Peter to “feed My Lambs”. Any preacher/paster who is too big to teach the children is unworthy of honour.

    At election time the people need tools to discern moral failure in leaders (it does matter), to discern moral questions (like gay marriage and abortion). To discern righteousness as an important social value.  To have compassion like Christ Jesus.  To be concerned for national issues as God sees it (Immigration and defence).

    Where are the teachers who are willing to sharpen the consciences of the people young and old, on real, relevant issues  as guided by the Word of God – the Holy Bible?

     Who will stand in the public square to make known God’s ways, God’s values  for our confused society??

    At election time, the would be politicians are ready for conversation. – go and ask them the important questions! Not about the money they promise. Ask them to be transparent about their own character and purpose. Avoid letting the media convince you of good or bad.

    The days were that good character was paramount. National interest was more important than personal benefit. And we can push back against the selfish priorities of modern politics.

    The last two years of teaching citizenship, it caused me to search the constitution, learn about laws and promote values. Beyond some disappointments I discovered so much of it  that is Bible based and we do well to highlight this. E.g. “rule of law” came from Moses teachings.  Compassion for migrants came from OT and NT etc.

 

So  let’s pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”

Doing or Done

 

Do or Done

I am reading the Old Testament writing called Deuteronomy. Many things, good things are commanded for the Israelites to do. I notice the commands for obedience are intertwined with the promises of God’s love for them.

e.g. “He is a faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love Him and obey His commands.”   Deut 7:9

 

In the New Testament, commands are given, but obedience is rather the outcome of love more than the means to win God’s favour.

Eg   “ It is Christ’s love that controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live.  He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will  no longer live to please themselves.  Instead they will live to please Christ who died and was raised for them.

……. All this newness of life is from God who brought us back to Himself through what Christ did.”   2 Corinthians 5:15

 

The ‘old way’  was by doing.

The new life is real because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done.

 

Are you living life as doing?

Or living life because of what He has done?

 

The objective of both is to connect with a righteous and Holy God, but the principle of connection is different. The first depends on my  obedience ( and we all fail) , the second on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ my Lord ( sufficient to reconcile all people who turn to God in faith).

johnmckee@internode.on.net

The Coming of the LORD

 

1Thessalonians chapter 5

Previously the subject was the hope of the believers, that the Lord Himself was coming/ is coming to catch up the believers. Dead ones to be raised from death and living ones transformed. All to be forever with the Lord.

Now Paul the Apostle introduces “Times and seasons”

In Acts 1, the Apostles asked the Lord “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered – “ It is not for you to know the times and seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power…..”  So which mattered most? Prophetic knowledge or power to live for Christ?

 

Verse 2   Paul does write about the Day of the LORD (Jehovah, YHWH).   Not so much the detail of that great day or the signs, but rather the effect on those who are waiting and watching for the Lord to return. The effect is godly living as described in the remainder of the chapter.

If he were writing to Jewish readers he could have referred them to the writings of Daniel, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Isaiah, Malachi etc for details. But it seems to me that he is referring them to the teaching of the Lord Jesus.  Refer to Luke 17:26

A brief summary:

The Day of the LORD will be

1      the vindication and manifestation of the LORD who revealed Himself to Moses and prophets.

2     The overt declaration that the Father sent SON to be the Saviour of the world

3     The final judgement of satan and his forces

4     The judgement of the nations – Parable of sheep and goats.

5     The great purging of Israel producing a  remnant and their restoration

It begins with a persuasive leader proclaiming ‘peace and safety’ and reaches its purpose with the full and final enthronement of the Lamb of God as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It will be a time of just judgement and none shall escape.

Much detail could be given, but Paul moves on to the effect .

Verse 4 “But you are not in the dark”

Christians are made intelligent by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Christians are invigorated to godly living as they wait for “God’s Son from heaven”.

Verse 6 “Therefore we are in the light, the day -  not stumbling in the dark. Having self control mingled with hope.

Verse 7 This world, this age, this society love the darkness so that they hide from  scrutiny. They like to live out their sinful nature as unrestrained lust, lies, licentiousness, witchcraft, idolatry.

Verse 8  The Believer in Jesus Christ has protection for heart and head:

         Faith in God, Faith in Jesus Christ.

         Love from God, to God and to others

         Understanding the great salvation of hope made real by the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesu Christ.

Verse 9-11  The real comfort is found in understanding God at work!

         God, in all His Sovereign Providence, has not destined believers in Jesus Christ to wrath (just anger against sin by God), but has appointed them to be saved out of this world and from eternal damnation. This is not wishful thinking, but has been achieved by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Just as He rose from the dead, so all believers will be raised to live with HIM – ‘Praise the Lord”

What a blessed hope!

What an inspiration to sanctified living!

 

Verse 12   Before concluding this letter, Paul asks them to notice those who take special care for the welfare of others. Their supervisory spirit was to be respected for the sincerity of their purpose – seeking to admonish and encourage in devotion to the Lord. Appointments to overseer and servant work likely had not happened, but the work of shepherding and serving was the outworking of Paul’s example and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 14   -  the work of elders:

1               Warn the disorderly

2              Cheer up the lonely, depressed, discouraged

3              Support the weak

4              React to criticism and contention patiently

5              Restrain revenge

6              Set an example of love and grace

 

Verse 16  The  outcome of waiting, watching, working for the coming Lord

         Rejoicing

         Praying

         Thankful

Listening, learning

Teachable

Diligent for truth

Holy

Verse 23   This is not a list of commandments to be obeyed.. This is the outcome of letting God by His Holy Spirit work in our spirits, our souls , our bodies,  our lives surrendered to Him.

He can sanctify, as we let him. His love gives us free will.

Paul restates the sanctifying effect of waiting, watching for the Lord – that we might be without blame at His return.

 

Can we truly sing  “Even so come Lord Jesus

                                    Even so come today

                           Even so come Lord Jesus

                                    Catching thy bride away

                           Oh how my heart is yearning

                                    Waiting for Thy returning

                           Even so come Lord Jesus

                                    Even so come today