30 April 2011

Psalm 145; Isa. 25:1-9; Acts 4:13-31; John 16:16-33

The Lord has swallowed up death forever. In the resurrection of Jesus this prophecy was fulfilled. Death is not the final answer. Do we realize what a salvation we have? Having been a Christian for many years I think we sometimes take for granted that we will live forever. It is a truth in which we should glory daily and which should make us always both glad and thankful. Without Jesus we have no certainty about our salvation, we have no real certainty about the possibility of eternal life, no one has truly proven it, it remains somewhat theoretical. In the resurrection of Jesus from the dead we know for certain that life after death is possible. We also know that His promise is that those who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. The curse of Genesis 3 has been removed, sin brought death into the world, in Jesus and His righteousness, life came into the world.

“I have overcome the world.” This is perhaps the most profound statement in the Gospels. The creator of all has overcome the world He created. How is He overcoming the world, by submitting to it and allowing the world to have its will done but also by overcoming temptation. Jesus takes all the temptation in the world and overcomes it by keeping His eyes fixed on the kingdom of heaven. Jesus rejects what the world has to offer by constantly seeking only what the Father has to offer and in doing so shows us how to be human and live unto the Lord. He speaks here of a time that is soon to come when the world will rejoice in the belief it has overcome Him but in the resurrection the real winner is revealed to be Jesus and in that knowledge the disciples will truly rejoice.

Jesus overcoming the world becomes also victory and boldness for His followers. Once death is shown to be a toothless enemy the fear of what man can do becomes less a threat. Peter and John respond to the admonition not to speak or teach in the Name of Jesus by recalling Luke 12.4-5 when Jesus warns them not to fear men who can kill the body alone but to fear Him who has the power after death to cast into Hell. Having seen the resurrection they pose the appropriate dilemma to the council, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge…” It would certainly have been an offensive response, setting the religious leaders over against God. The implication is that there are two opposing sides in this issue and they aren’t with God. They know the power that comes from certainty about eternity and live in that assurance with no fear, not even of those they formerly feared greatly. These had power to convict Jesus and put Him on the cross but there their power ended and God’s began, the power which has no end.

Hail, Thou once despisèd Jesus! Hail, Thou Galilean King!
Thou didst suffer to release us; Thou didst free salvation bring.
Hail, Thou universal Savior, who hast borne our sin and shame!
By Thy merits we find favor; life is given through Thy Name.

29 April 2011

Psalm 136; Dan. 12:1-4,13; Acts 4:1-12; John 16:1-15

Daniel receives a word about the end of days. Strangely, just this morning I saw an article about some little books with pages the size of a credit card that were found in Jordan in a cave recently that were described as sealed and there are already scholars speculating on whether these are the books that are described in the book of the Revelation, the sealed scrolls that only the Lamb can open. How could biblical scholars say these are the same? One is found in heaven and unsealed only by the crucified Christ and these were found in a cave in Jordan and opened by men. There are many who believe we live in the biblical last days and yet we are not given to know such things, only the Father knows those times. We are to live always if He were coming back tomorrow. We shouldn’t have too many changes to make if we take that seriously.

Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples or us when these things will happen, only that they will. They were indeed thrown out of the synagogues within the lifetime of most, if not all, the disciples as the Jews tried to distance themselves from the Christian community. We have been warned of what is to come and the Holy Spirit has been given to us to know the truth about all things lest those who are sealed for salvation fall away. We need the Holy Spirit operating in our lives to interpret the signs and to be secure in our salvation. The Spirit speaks truth in our inner being to allow us to know that even though the world rejects us and our testimony that it is nonetheless true. The Spirit declares those things that are to come and has revealed them to us through John the Revelator. We have confidence in the face of opposition and persecution because of the Spirit.

Peter, the same man who denied Jesus three times rather than stand with Him in His hour of need, now tells the council that the only hope they have is Jesus, the man they crucified. Something extraordinary has happened in Peter’s life. The power of the Holy Spirit and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead have happened and these have utterly changed this man into the man he has always wanted to be. He is willing to deal with the disapprobation of these men because of Christ risen and Christ in him. He is willing to speak the truth to power and to proclaim his allegiance to Jesus even if it means death. He has the confidence that comes with knowing this life isn’t all there is, that if he proclaims Christ here then He will claim Peter for all eternity. He no longer operates from the fear of man.

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

28 April 2011

Psalm 146, 147; Ezek. 37:1-14; Acts 3:11-26; John 15:12-27

Ezekiel sees the resurrection from the dead. What a sight this must have been for Ezekiel! Does he see this “in the Spirit” or in reality? He sees dry bones, bones of those long dead and the Lord asks if these bones can live again. If the Lord can create man from the dust of the earth, certainly He could bring these bones to life again. Ezekiel is given the incredible opportunity to do what only God has done, speak to that which has no life and cooperate with God’s Spirit in bringing life. He is speaking with all the authority of God because He is speaking in obedience to God’s command to Him and what He sees is the power of God in being able to do anything He chooses. When we abide in Him and follow Him we see amazing things and He uses us to work His wonders.

Jesus promises the disciples that He will send them the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to lead and guide them. He also promises that if they remain in Him the Father will hear their prayers in His Name and will give them what they ask. Does this mean that God is obliged to do whatever we ask Him to? Jesus never presumed upon the Father to do for Him, all He did was for the glory of the Father, not for His own comfort, safety and security. All He asked of the Father was for others and for the glory of the Father. The only time we truly see Him asking the Father for something for His own benefit was in the garden as Jesus prayed that if it were the Father’s will then the cup of suffering would not come to Him but in the end it was all up to the Father. He tells the disciples to love one another and follows that with the reality that if they persevere in their testimony to Him the world will hate them. They can’t afford to be divided from one another, they are few in number and the rest of the world hates them. In this life we need to love one another as Christ loves us.

Peter explains the healing of the man who had been lame from birth. His explanation is simple that the power that healed this man is the power that raised Jesus from the dead and this power is now working through Peter. He says it is by faith in the Name of Jesus that this man is healed. Whose faith is operative here? Did the lame man have faith in Jesus? Peter certainly had faith that he could speak to “dry bones” and heal them but we don’t know what the man knew or believed or did he feel a healing in his bones and joints. Peter uses this opportunity to preach the Gospel. They acted in ignorance in crucifying Jesus, they “knew not what they were doing.” Because of this, forgiveness is possible if they will accept Him as Messiah and turn from their “wickedness.” They would have a difficult time accepting themselves as doers of wickedness unless the Spirit convicted them but Peter was telling the truth. It probably won’t win friends and influence people, however.

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!

Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!

Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!

Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!

Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!

Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!

Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

27 April 2011

Psalm 97, 99; Micah 7:7-15; Acts 3:1-10; John 15:1-11

Micah is confident in the Lord. He knows that the Lord is faithful and he is willing to wait based on that belief. He has dealt with the important thing, sin against the Lord, and now he believes the Lord will be faithful to forgive that sin. Knowing the Lord is meant to be more than being able to pass a Bible test, it is meant to change our lives, to transform us. To know Him is to know His character (Exodus 34.6-7) and to know His promises. He is unchangeable, He is consistent and true, He is faithful in a way that we never are in that He is always without fail, true to His Word. Micah knows this and rests in those truths. He knows what the Lord has promised to those who turn to Him and He knows that however long it may be delayed, the outcome is certain because the Lord has promised it.

Is your life bearing fruit? For most of us that is an uncomfortable question and it isn’t easy to answer. How do we measure it? It has to mean something more than button-holing people on the street and giving them the Gospel so that they will be converted. Bearing fruit is a direct result of abiding in Jesus, resting in His love and allowing Him to be formed in you. Abiding in Him requires something of us, it requires us to be attached completely to Him through prayer, study of the Word, and fellowship with other Christians who will speak truth into our lives. Fruitfulness can be any number of things, it can mean reaching out in love to one who needs a hand to hold onto, speaking encouragement to one who needs it, spending time talking about Jesus to a child, showing love to your spouse or your children just because you love them and are thankful the Lord has given them to you, etc. All that we have to offer the world is from the overflow of our hearts from being filled in Jesus by spending time with Him.

Peter spoke with the same unshakeable confidence we see in Micah. How does he know that the man will be healed? There is no shadow of doubt in his command to stand up and be healed, just as Jesus spoke to the man at the Pool of Siloam. The man stood and leaped. This man was lame from birth, his ankles and knees never worked properly and yet at Peter’s command he believed enough to try and then his joints were strong enough to leap. That is true healing! He had started his day like any other, being carried to the temple to beg from the worshippers and by late afternoon he was leaping and praising God. He no longer had to stay outside the temple but he worshipped where he was most familiar and the Lord received all the praise.

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!

Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!

Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!

Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!

Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!

Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!

Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

26 April 2011

Psalm 103; Isa. 30:18-21; Acts 2:26-47; John 14:15-31

There is a promise of more than return to the Land, it is a promise of presence. The Lord waits on us to turn to Him to show us grace and mercy we are blessed if we wait on Him. Here the blessing is that when we turn to Him we will see the Teacher with our eyes and He will be with us to guide us. What is required of us to have this blessing is eyes to seek to see Him and ears tuned to listen to Him. We have to relinquish control, admit that the messes we get into are due to our own failure to seek Him and to listen to Him. When we get to that point we begin to fear moving ahead without seeing or hearing Him and we are able to listen and obey His voice.

"Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" Could Judas (not Iscariot) have understood the answer to this question at the time? The Holy Spirit is a complete mystery to those who don’t have the Spirit. He is a self-authenticating truth that is impossible to share with another person. Holy Spirit isn’t the same as conscience because He does so much more than convict us of right and wrong but He does that. He is the fulfillment of the passage from Isaiah, the Teacher who guides us in God’s ways, leading us into truth. Holy Spirit is a person, the Lord and giver of life who has spoken through the prophets. He is the presence of God within us, the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to be with us always, that we are never alone. He is the greatest gift to the church. We cannot appreciate the gifts we have unless we recognize that they come from the Holy Spirit and worship and glorify Him with the Father and the Son. Without the Holy Spirit we wouldn’t have a church, we would have a book club who had chosen a particular book to use for moral and ethical teaching. We would have chosen well but that would be more about luck than anything else.

How did Peter know that if the people repented and were baptized they would receive the Holy Spirit? What did he think that would look like? He spoke powerful words of truth here regarding eternal life and that it was clearly evident in the Old Testament and he spoke with powerful certainty concerning Jesus. He also saw 3000 people come to faith this day of Pentecost, the ingathering of the first fruits, the fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Weeks itself. Jesus had told them the fields were ripe for harvest and here they see He was right, the only thing missing for the harvest to be realized was the Holy Spirit poured out. What a wonderful thing it is to see those final verses of this chapter with signs and wonders being done, awe filling the hearts of believers and a hunger to know more, to pray together, to share all of life with one another. I pray that we would see such an outpouring in our day.

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!