6th April 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 14v22-36) Message (Scott Woodburn) The Lord had sought solitude to mourn the loss of His friend John and after the miraculous feeding of five thousand men, Jesus once again travelled to a quiet place to pray (v22-23). In this instance even the disciples had been sent on ahead of the Lord to facilitate a peaceful moment of prayer. However as the Lord prayed, the disciples found themselves in the midst of a storm. They were attempting to travel to the other side of the lake but were beaten by the wind and the waves (v24). At some stage between three and six in the morning Jesus went to His disciples (v25). They were at sea and He was on dry land but this situation posed no difficulty for the One who made all things. The waves became Christ's personal bridge and He made His way to His friends who were getting nowhere fast in the middle of the lake. Jesus the king of creation was doing the impossible by walking on the water. When the disciples saw Jesus they were absolutely terrified - people don't walk on water and so they cried out in fear "It is a ghost!" (v26). But there was no ghost walking on the waves that night, it was the Lord and He spoke to His disciples saying “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (v27). Throughout history some have argued incorrectly that Jesus merely gave the appearance of humanity. In other words He was not a true human but just looked like one and that's why He could walk on water. We reject such thinking. Christ was true God and true man without sin - flesh and blood walked upon the waves. As the disciples heard the Lord's voice it was Peter who replied saying “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” (v28). Peter was a fisherman and knew all too well the danger of the sea, but when he heard Christ's call to "come" (v29), Peter got out of the boat and walked towards Jesus. We can only imagine Peter's surge of adrenaline as the boat got further away and Jesus got nearer and we can only imagine his sense of awe as his feet found the waves to be firm beneath him. Nevertheless as the wind whipped around Peter, his fear swamped his faith and he began to sink (v30). Thankfully Jesus was near and He reached out His hand to answer Peter's cry of "Lord, save me." (v30) before asking Peter "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?". We must resist the temptation to harshly criticise Peter. In him we see ourselves when moments of extraordinary faith are tempered by moments of extraordinary doubt. We are simul justus et peccator - at the same time justified and sinful, and all of us require the strong hand of the Lord to reach the finish line. When the Lord entered the boat, the wind ceased (v32) and when He arrived on dry land many who were sick were brought to Jesus and they were healed by a mere touch of Christ's garment (v34-36). As the wind stopped blowing and as dawn approached, a growing realisation was rising in the hearts of the disciples. They had witnessed many miraculous deeds and they themselves had been sent out to do mighty works in the name of God. But the walking on the water, the calming of the wind and the saving of Peter had brought the Lord's disciples to their knees. In response they worshipped and said “Truly you are the Son of God.” (v33) This worship wasn't a pat on the back or the highest form of praise given to a really special someone, this was worship that should only be offered to the Lord God. This was a declaration of their certain belief that Christ was indeed the only begotten Son of God. To those who are sinking fast, remind yourself today that Jesus has not changed. He is still able to save to the uttermost those who call upon Him. Just as He stood on the water, so too He will stand again upon the earth and with all of God's people we will see Him and say "Truly you are the Son of God." Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q13 Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created? Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.
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5th April 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Hebrews 11:39–40 Message Alan Burke Those who are listed in Hebrews 11, sinful men and women, sinners who were saved by grace though faith in Christ Jesus. It was by the grace of God that those listed received a commendation. Yet as v39 continues, after we are told they were commended for their faith we are told, “yet none of them received what had been promised”. They did not receive what was promised because they did not live to see the Christ to which that they hoped and longed for, the one that they were living by faith in. They did not see the coming of the new covenant in the blood of the Christ that they looked to, they did not see the kingdom arrive and yet in it all their future was secure in the Christ that they looked to. Even though in their own life time they did not receive the fullness of what was promised, the coming of the Christ to whom they looked, or the great and final resurrection at the second coming of the Christ. For that is where their hope ultimately rested, on the promises of God, on that city which foundations and builder is God himself. They did not receive the fulfilment of the promises of God, their hope was in the coming of Christ. We are reminded here that for us “God had planned something better”. The something better for us which God had planned was the coming of the Christ, Jesus Immanuel, God with us. These listed were commended for their faith while they all looked forward to his coming they lived with shadows, they could only see dimly. They were like those with pieces of the picture but not able to see fully what God was doing, they had “A small spark of light led them to heaven; when the sun of righteousness shines over us” (John Calvin). It is to the coming of the saviour Jesus Christ that the saints of old looked to, how the Lord Jesus Christ when he came would inaugurated this final age in which the promises of God will be brought to completion. Sadly often we do not always realise that we with them are all part of the Covenant of Grace, the believers that are here listed were justified the same way as we are under the covenant of grace, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. They looked forward, whereas we look to what the Christ has done and we know what the Christ will come one day to do, to judge the living and the dead. What he had come to do, was to fulfil what the sacrificial system had pointed all the while to, the necessity of the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins. As Jesus Christ, the son of God, true God and true man went to Calvary’s hill, the something better for us is what God has done there on the Cross, as he placed the wrath that was due to us on his only begotten son. On the cross Jesus paid the price for sin, for my sin, for your sins, for the sin of all of those who have lived by faith. God in his grace held back his judgement in his forbearance until Jesus came and dealt with the sin of all the saints, the saints who lived before the coming of Christ and the saints since, the saints today and the saints in the future, all those who believe in him are saints in Christ Jesus. In this God demonstrated his justice, the justice of God is seen in and through the Lord Jesus Christ who took the punishment that sin deserves for us and therefore the righteousness of God comes through faith in Christ Jesus. The Cross is the manifestation of the glorious wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:23, 24) so that we might be the redeemed of God, that we might have like those saints of old a hope of city whose foundations and builder is God, where we will dwell with him for eternity. Brothers and sisters in the midst of what you face know this hope by faith in Christ Jesus. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q12 What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created? When God had created man, he entered into a (covenant of life) with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death. (Gal. 3:12, Gen. 2:17) 4th April 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 14v13-21) Message (Scott Woodburn) We would do well to remember the glorious reality of Christ - Jesus is true God, true man and without sin. Sometimes we are tempted to dilute the Lord's humanity and imagine Him as some sort of super human hybrid. This is false teaching and we see the true picture of the Lord's manhood in Christ's withdrawal to a desolate place which comes in response to the news of John's execution (v13). The Lord loved John and the Lord mourned John. Nevertheless, Jesus was not allowed too much time to Himself. The crowds heard of the Lord's location and they went on foot to find Him. When the Lord returned He did not lament that He never got a minute's peace, but instead He had compassion on the crowd and healed their sick (v14). Yet the Lord's work was not finished. Evening had fallen and his disciples came to Jesus with a problem. They found themselves in a desolate place, the crowd was great and the crowd was hungry. The disciples urged Christ "send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." (v15) to which the Lord replied “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” (v16). I've heard endless stories about wee grandmothers who could work miracles with very little and supply the needs of copious amounts of visitors, but the disciples had no such ability. The crowd numbered five thousand men and with women and children added to that, the total number may have been as large as twenty thousand souls (v21). In the face of such a large crowd all the disciples could offer was five loaves and two fish (v17). Can you imagine? Possibly twenty thousand hungry people in the middle of nowhere with tired crying children and nothing to eat. You and I would have been overwhelmed but the God-man told the crowds to sit on the grass before He took the five loaves and two fish, looked to heaven and pronounced a blessing (v19). Jesus gave the food to the disciples and they in turn gave it to the crowds. Miraculously, everyone ate and was satisfied and twelve baskets of leftovers were collected by the disciples (v20). Perhaps your mind has already noticed the parallels between this incident in a desolate place and the feeding of the twelve tribes in the wilderness? Long before the birth of Christ, God led His people out of Egypt with the goal of taking them to the promised land. That generation failed to enter Israel due to their sinful rebellion but nevertheless the Lord met their physical needs with manna and quail. In this well known story of the bread and fishes, Jesus met the need of another crowd in another wilderness. Just as bread once descended from heaven to feed the Israelites, Christ is the true bread from heaven who has descended from glory. In Him the church can draw near and be satisfied and in Him there is always an abundance. There is no one who starts with Christ, goes on with Christ and finishes by seeing Christ who is disappointed. He is our meat and our drink. He is our bread and our wine. He is our Saviour. We meet Jesus in this passage seeking solitude to mourn His friend but once more we realise that "the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1v25). Life is about more than food and the body more than clothes. True life is only found by faith in the Christ who once said “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6v35). This world is fading away and it is obsessed by wealth, glamour and the latest twenty second exploits of fools on TikTok. Christ is the antidote and the alternative as He meets the world's shallowness with His abundant substance. Brothers and sisters, if you are tired, weary and hungry remember the feast that you have in Christ. In this world you will have trouble but one day you will take your place at the wedding supper of the Lamb. Thanks be to God. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q11 What are God’s works of providence? God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions. 3rd April 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Hebrews 11:39a Message Alan Burke We’ve spent the last number of weeks working through some of those listed in Hebrews 11, we have been brought face to face with sinful men and women, who are not held out to us to model their behaviour for they were ultimately sinners but to the hope that they had of the Christ who would come. They are some of those old testament saints were saved by grace though faith in Christ Jesus. It was by the grace of God that those listed received a commendation. None of it was based on their works, their endeavours, their efforts, instead they were those who were called by God who had faith and by faith they were those used by God as he worked out his plans and purposes in salvation history, it is a wonderful story of the grace of our God that would redeem sinners for his only Glory. They had faith which is a gift of God, a faith that looked to the promises of God, the yet not seen heavenly reality! At any point throughout human history, if anyone has ever been saved it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The faith all these had was in Christ, they way they were saved was by Christ, they only faith that saves is in Christ! For every believer it is by faith alone in Christ alone that we are saved. While some may want to claim that what matters for us ‘faith and’; faith and works, faith and keeping the commands, faith and loving their neighbour, faith and being a good citizen, or works without faith, or keeping the commands without faith, loving their neighbour without faith, being a good citizen without faith, no, salvation from beginning to end was and is about faith, these in Hebrews 11 were saved by faith, likewise we are saved by faith. And the knowledge of this should lead us to rejoice at the wonder of the gospel, since the gospel was first announced to the serpent in the midst of the fall, of the hope of the one who would come, the seed of the woman, a serpent crusher who would come and now has come (Gen 3:15). What God had been directing his people to from the very beginning is that what matters is not our goodness, but His grace. For as the covenant of works lay in shatters with the fall, as Adam’s first sin brought sin and death into the world, God instituted the covenant of Grace, how sinners are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, in the serpent crusher. For the one who was God and was with God in the begging, the one whom all things were made through, the one what was life and the light of all men came into the world, the only begotten Son came that he might die for all those past, present and future who would have faith in him. For all that receive him, for all who believe in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God who were born not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man but of God by the Holy Spirit whom we were baptised in through faith. We like those listed here have received by faith our commendation, what mattered was and is the grace of God in the Christ that they looked to and we look to, it is by faith, it comes by faith. You know if you are weary, weary in the midst of this life, living under the effects of sins curse in a sin cursed world, if your struggles are getting on top of you, past guilt of sin that the devil keeps accusing you off, or maybe living with the consequences of past sin? Then know that what matters is faith, it has always been this way, the only way that we please God becomes the righteous of God is by faith in the Christ the Son of God who came to die in our stead. For it is by faith that the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ is credited to us, that is given to us. What we deserve is his wrath but Christ took the wrath that we deserve that we might be saved. It is the only way that anyone has been saved is by faith. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q10 How did God create man? God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. (Gen. 1:26–28, Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24) 1st April 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 14v1-12) Message (Scott Woodburn) It is common wisdom that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This is observable in nature and it is often observable in families. At the time of Christ's birth the ruler of Judea was a man called Herod the Great. Famously Herod sought to kill Jesus and when he couldn't do that he ordered the massacre of the innocents. When Herod the Great died his kingdom was divided into four with the fancy term for this being a "tetrarchy". It was divided between his sister Salome and his three sons Herod Antipas, Herod Archelaus and Philip. Have you ever heard the term "antichrist"? It is a Biblical term used to describe someone who seeks to take the place of Jesus. There have been antichrists since the very beginning of time, there are antichrists today and before the return of Christ, one final antichrist will appear. Herod the Great was an antichrist and tragically his son Herod Antipas (also called "the tetrarch" (v1)) was too. Herod Antipas had thrown John the Baptist in prison because of John's preaching (v3). Was his frustration caused by the length of John's sermons? No. John had been telling Herod the tetrarch that his marriage to Herodias was unlawful (v4). Herodias was Herod the Great's granddaughter and the wife of Herod the tetrarch's half-brother Herod Philip (not Philip the tetrarch). Not only that but she was the daughter of Herod the tetrarch's half-brother Aristobulus. Complicated doesn't fully describe this family but in simple terms Herod the tetrarch had married his sister-in-law who also happened to be his niece and this was prohibited by the Levitical law (Leviticus 18v16). Herod's rage was so intense that he wanted to put John to death but he relented because he feared the people who considered John to be a prophet (v5). Nevertheless, sin and evil would find another path. Herod had a birthday party and was entertained by the dancing of his wife's daughter Salome (v6). Salome's performance was probably quite sensual which adds yet another layer of depravity. Salome was the daughter of Herodias and her first husband Philip, making Herod the tetrarch Salome's uncle. Uncle Herod was so pleased by his dancing niece that he made an oath that he would give her whatever she wanted (v7). What did she ask for? With her mother's advice she asked for John's head on a platter (v8). Her request caused Herod to realise his foolishness. He was sorry but still sought to save face in front of his guests and so John's life was taken from him and his head was brought to the party like some cheap prop (v9-10). The apple didn't fall far from the tree and Herod the tetrarch had been proved just as foolish and bloodthirsty as his father. It has been said that sin always aims for the upmost or in other words it doesn't just aim for lust, it desires the destruction of a marriage. It doesn't just aim for anger, it desires the murder of an opponent. Sin is not a minor issue but active, open and terrible rebellion against the Lord. We must never think that sin is an irrelevancy but we should always be aware of the sinfulness of sin. Herod the tetrarch's story played out like an episode of Eastenders. There was lust, sex, broken marriages, gossip, slander, foolish promises, revenge and murder. Do you see how sin produces sin produces sin? The problem with this world isn't global warming, the Windsor framework, war in Ukraine or any other issue of the day. These are symptoms of a much deeper issue. This world is fallen indeed and a place where sin abounds. Here is humanity's greatest foe and one which they can never defeat if left to their own devices. Thankfully no antichrist will ever take Christ's place and sin will not have the final word. Even in the face of humanity's recklessness and depravity, the Lion of Judah's roar is one of victory. "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5v21) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q9 What is the work of creation? The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good. |
Alan
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