7th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:13-17 Message Alan Burke There was a time in the not too distant past we all used cash, some of you will remember the jars in the house that were used to put the money in, one for house keeping, one for coal, one for savings, one for holiday etc. the jars were sometimes more full than others. There is one thing that all the notes and coins have in common and that is an easy one to figure out of you grew up here, they had on them the embossed image of our late Monarch Queen Elizabeth. I still haven’t see Charles on a coin, I’m not sure if they are in circulation yet but those days will come. In the days of Jesus on the denarius there likewise was embossed not with Elizabeth but with Caesar along with an inscription, Ti Caesar Divi Aug F Augustus, which meant, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” On the reverse side of the coin was the inscription pontif maxim, that is, “High Priest.”. The denarius in every Jews pocket was making a statement that he was not only the ruler of the empire he was also the priest of all, the problem is that for the Jews he was using a term that is for God alone. Jesus after he is given a denarius ask the Pharisees and the Herodians them whose “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” Of course they replied “Caesar’s,” and Jesus says “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”. We thought about that on Wednesday, what though I want to draw out for us today is the next statement of Jesus, the bit that we almost forget about, where he continues and says “and to God what is God’s.” We are to “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (17). The denarius that Jesus held in his hand had the image of Caesar on it and therefore we are to render, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and for every human who has ever lived they have the image of the Lord God embossed upon them, they were made in His image. God has placed his image on us. The word that is used in Mark is the same word as in Genesis 1:26 we are made in the image of God. Each an every one of us bears the image of the Lord our God, we were made in his image. While the denarius had the image of Caesar stamped on it, each and everyone of us are indelibly made in the image of God, we bear his image, you bear the image of the Lord God almighty and each person on this earth no matter how much they may have mutilated their bodies, how vile they may behave, how sinful they may be likewise bears the image of the creator, from the moment of conception to that last dying breath and we belong not to ourselves but to God. The coins were Caesars, but we are God’s. For each and every person who has ever lived they owe obedience to God, we give to God what is God and therefore we give ourselves, our entire being, all of us, we are to Give what is due to the civil authorities and we are to live according to what is due and what is due is that we are to render our entire lives, that means every part, our time, our possessions, our affections to the Lord our God and for the Christian this should be our desire above all else. Are there ways in which we are not living in this way? I propose there are many but for all of us we should be seeking to live in a way that gives glory to the one we bear the image of. For we have been brought from death to life, we are to offer every part of ourselves as an instrument of righteousness here in this life (Rom 6:13), everything we have is God’s for we are God’s made in his image but are we living that way? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q92 What is a sacrament? A sacrament is an holy ordinance instituted by Christ, wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers. (Gen. 17:7,10, Exod. 12, 1 Cor. 11:23,26)
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6th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 26v1-30) Message (Scott Woodburn) We can never repeat enough that the events of Christ's death and resurrection were no accident. Some have foolishly asked "What would have happened if Jesus had lived? Would we have heaven on earth?" No and no. It was decreed that Christ must suffer and die and without His victory then you and I would be without hope. Christ was under no illusions and after teaching His disciples about the end times, He told them “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” (v2) With that verse Matthew moves his Gospel into an account of the final days of Christ's walk to the cross. The die was cast, the Rubicon was crossed and the Lamb made His way to the place of sacrifice. Everything started to fall into place. The chief priests and elders conspired against Jesus and sought to kill Him (v3-5). A woman came to Jesus and anointed Him with expensive ointment (v7). The disciples were angered by such a "waste" only to be rebuked by the Lord who told them "In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial." (v12). We still tell this story and the woman is remembered to this very day as predicted by the Lord (v13). Judas Iscariot brought no ointment but he instead made a deal with the chief priests to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (v14-16). Despite this betrayal Judas was brazen enough to take his place around the table at the event we call "the last supper". It is remarkable that not even the location of the supper was an accident. Jesus said “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” (v18) and so the Lord and the disciples ate their appointed meal in the appointed place. It was around the table that the Lord again displayed His foreknowledge of the events soon to take place. He told the disciples “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” (v21). The disciples were filled with sorrow at Christ's words and they began to ask Jesus "Is it I, Lord?" (v22). Christ was clear that His betrayer had "dipped his hand in the dish" with Jesus (v24). In other words, the betrayer was someone known to Christ and ate with Christ - Jesus would be betrayed by a friend. Yet the Lord was clear that the betrayer's actions were so heinous that it would have been better for that man never to have been born (v24). In the person of Judas we see God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. We must hold both together despite the difficulty they pose to our finite minds. What do I mean? God is sovereign and He decreed that Judas would be the one to betray Christ. Nevertheless, Judas has no room to blame God, he willingly betrayed Jesus and is responsible for his own actions. To remain silent would raise suspicion and so Judas asked "Is it I, Rabbi?" which was met with the Lord's reply "You have said so." (v25). Jesus' words did not immediately uncover Judas to his fellow disciples nor did they let him off the hook. Jesus knew the identity of his betrayer and Judas was under no illusion otherwise. The betrayer looked into the eyes of the betrayed and both knew the truth of the situation. As the talk of betrayal subsided, Jesus took bread and gave it to His disciples saying “Take, eat; this is my body.” (v26). In the same way He took a cup of wine and gave it to them and said “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (v27-28). It is in these verses that we find the institution of the Lord's supper. The church of Christ is commanded to eat and drink in remembrance of our Lord. It is a special meal which strengthens our faith and underlines our assurance. We eat, drink, remember and proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Although the Supper is incredibly significant, we are forced to admit that we do not eat and drink with Jesus physically. Nevertheless, a day is coming when Jesus will return and He will feast with His church in person once again (v29). As the night grew dark Jesus led His disciples in singing a hymn (v30). This was almost certainly part of the "Hallel" which is made up of Psalm 113-118. Can you imagine? Christ knows what lies in front of Him and still He leads His disciples in a song of praise. I'm humbled at the thought of the singing in that room "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118v22-24) Brothers and sisters, meditate upon the opening verses of Matthew 26. Read the familiar story again and learn once more of the sights, sounds and smells of that night long ago. It is a story of fragrant anointing, bitter plotting and sinful betrayal. Yet in the midst of it all there is Jesus who takes a meal and shows His followers what He is about to do for them. Thank God for the Gospel, it is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q91 How do the Sacraments become effectual means of salvation? The Sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in him that doth administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them. 5th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:13-17 Message Alan Burke Someone walks up to you who if you’re honest you couldn’t see far enough, there is history between the two of you and normally your interactions are tense at the best of time. The last time that you had more than a passing interaction, you were left in a rage and they left saying that they wanted to kill you. Sounds like a fun? Now imagine the next time you saw the person they came up to you and were all nice, like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth, so polite, I bet if that happened you’d be thinking to yourself “what’s coming next”. This sets the scene for what is happening here. If you glance back to Mark 3:1-6 we are giving a previous engagement between Jesus, the Herodians and the Pharisees and Jesus was angry, and the Pharisees left and began to plot with the Herodians of how they might kill Jesus, now as they show up together they come with flattery, while they are seeing to entrap Jesus they comes and say “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth”. While everything that they have said here is true they did not mean it, they were not sincere. For while they were rejecting Jesus he was a man of integrity, he was not swayed by men, he paid not attention to who they were and he did teach the way of God in accordance with the truth but while what he taught was true they refused to believe it. They certainly did not believe that Jesus taught the way of God, his words they hated and their words although flattery were true and Jesus was not going to fall into their trap, if they had seen past their hatred they would have understood that and they would have understood who Jesus was. Their question was a political hot potato, is it right to pay taxers to Caesar? Like asking should we pay or shouldn’t we? I’d like not to pay taxes, I’d have a pound or two more but taxes are there for a reason, without them we wouldn’t have roads, water, schools, the NHS etc, taxes are used to support public services. But taxation in Israel was to pay for the invading army to keep us under control, to pay for soldiers. This money wasn’t going to public services it was be being used to keep them under the boot, to pay for the military occupation. It equated to a days wage, one denarius, that’s about £85 in todays money. On the denarius there likewise was embossed with Caesar along with an inscription, Ti Caesar Divi Aug F Augustus, which meant, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” On the reverse side of the coin was the inscription pontif maxim, that is, “High Priest.”. The denarius in the pocket of every Jew making a statement that he was not only the ruler of the empire he was also the priest of all, the problem is that for the Jews he was using a term that is for God alone. Jesus asks them whose “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” Of course they replied “Caesar’s,” and Jesus says “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” This teaching of Jesus affirms that Rome’s political power was legitimate as well as the power all civil governments is legitimate. The Lord through Paul builds on this idea in the book of Romans, Romans 13 where we are told “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves “Ro 13:1–2”. God has instituted civil government, yet he remains sovereign over all things and as a result we are to submit to those who rule over us and the outworking of that is that we pay our taxes. Jesus though makes it clear that we give to the state what is due, we should never be those who withhold what is due, we are to give what is due. And all rulers whether elected or dictatorial will answer to God. We are to be model citizens, we should be those who seek to obey those whom God has placed over us even when we don’t like it, we are duty bound to obey according to the word of God. That doesn’t mean though that we co-operate with evil, that we obey unconditionally. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q90 How is the Word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation? That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, (Prov. 8:34) preparation, (1 Pet. 2:1–2) and prayer; (Ps. 119:18) receive it with faith and love, (Heb. 4:2, 2 Thess. 2:10) lay it up in our hearts, (Ps. 119:11) and practice it in our lives. (Luke 8:15, James 1:25) 4th July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 25v31-46) Message (Scott Woodburn) There are only two types of people in this world - those who hate Jesus and those who have willingly embraced Him. Humanity is divided along all kinds of lines and markers but boil it all down and you have followers of Christ and those who hate Jesus. Nowhere will this be more apparent than on the day of judgement. At the return of Christ, He will take His seat upon the throne and everyone who has ever lived will be gathered before Him (v31-32). We know this to be true because the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead has confirmed it. Paul once preached "God has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17v31) The resurrected Christ will one day be Christ the judge. The billions that will stand before Christ won't be mixed together in a jumbled mess. Instead they will be separated into a group on the right and a group on the left (v32). Jesus is the one who separates the mass of humanity and by this very act we understand that He know the hearts of all people everywhere. Those who follow Christ are called His sheep and their place is on Christ's right. Those who hate Jesus are called the goats and their place is on Christ's left (v33). Not only will the human race stand in different places but they will be told different things. Those on the right hear "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." (v34-36). Whilst those on the left are told “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." (v41-43). There are many who refuse to handle such passages. They believe that Jesus never said anything about judgement or hell and they imagine the Lord to be always loving and gracious. Indeed some even go so far as to say that there will be nobody sent to hell and there will be some sort of universal salvation. I reject all of this. History comes to a close with Christ on the judgement seat giving heaven to His sheep and hell to the goats. What will the basis of this decision be? To stand on the right side in the judgement you must be born again. You must receive Christ as your Saviour. The one who is transformed by the Gospel will show the reality of that faith in their works. The righteous were surprised at Christ's description of their actions. They couldn't remember seeing Jesus hungry or thirsty or alienated or naked or sick or in prison (v38-39). The Lord's answer was that they had done all of these things to fellow members of the church and therefore they had done them to Christ (v40). The situation was reversed on the left. The goats were also surprised as they couldn't remember any neglect of Christ but again the Lord's response was that they had mistreated Christ's followers and therefore they had mistreated Jesus (v44-45). Please be clear that we are not saved or damned by our works. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Nevertheless, our works or lack of them are sure evidence or our true spiritual condition and we certainly do not love Jesus if we do not love His church. Christ's description of the day of judgement ends with one of the most sombre verses in Scripture. Jesus said "these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (v46). There's the final separation of humanity. Those on Christ's left go to hell forever and those on the right go to heaven forever. There is no "in-between" place that you can be prayed out of. Hell is not for one hundred years and then you get to go to heaven. The judgement that is decreed on the final day will not be revoked. You will believe the Gospel or not, you will serve Jesus or yourself, you will stand on the right or left and you will dwell in either heaven or hell. There are only two types of people in this world - those who hate Jesus and those who have willingly embraced Him. Which one are you? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q89 How is the Word made effectual to salvation? The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation. 3rd July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read - Mark 12:13-17 (focus v13) Message Alan Burke The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It comes from the Latin phrase “"Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei" which means "my friend, the enemy of my enemy”. I don’t think it needs to much explaining, it means that two parties can or should work together against a common enemy. We see this is politics, in the workplace and on the world stage. We also see this here with the Pharisees and Herodians being sent to Jesus. Also take note that this encounter comes on the same day as chief priests, the scribes and the elders those who made up the Sanhedrin had challenged Jesus’ authority Jesus responded by telling them the parable of the Tenants about them but they were afraid to do anything because of the crowd so they left with their tails between their legs. A few hours later they think it’s worth having another crack at their Jesus problem so they send the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees and the Herodians were two groups that hated teach other and they came together for what they had perceived as the common good. It was ultimately a coming together for their common hatred of Jesus as they sought to set a trap for him. This leads to the third confrontation in a row and the second time that they try to trap Jesus. The Pharisees were conservative Jews who believed that they could keep every law that God had given his people, and they had a contempt for those who were not like them, they saw others as sinful and looked down at them and they kept themselves separate from others. That separation from others is where you get the name Pharisee it means separate, or detached. Neither did these Pharisees like Rome, they hated the Roman occupation and everyone who supported it. Then we have the Herodians, the name should give us some clues of who they were, Herod after all was in charge. The Herodians they were a non religious political group, basically a political party who, unlike the Pharisees were its supporters of Herod and the Roman authorities. The Herodians were despised by many Jews, they were despised by the Pharisees because of their willingness to work the corrupt Herod, they were diametrically opposed on everything, well except one thing, or rather one person. This is a strange alliance borne out of mutual hatred for Jesus, in their case ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’. They come together we are told to catch/trap Jesus, they were seeking to entrap him by his words. Mark is conveying to us that this was anything but a friendly encounter, they wanted to end Jesus and they were hoping that his words here would be enough to do it. We will focus on what comes next later in the week but for now what I want to draw out of this for us, that is the working relationship between the Pharisees and the Herodians. These two groups, came together because of their mutual hatred of Jesus, they formed an alliance that made them look beyond their own mutual dislike for each other to their common hatred of Jesus. In this response to the person and work of Jesus Christ we see in the Gospel and time and time again, it is a response to the Gospel throughout the New Testament and we see it today. Here is what I mean by that, the gospel brings people together! It brings people together in two different ways. On one hand it brings people together who oppose gospel, the Pharisees and the Herodians are an example of that, but the gospel also brings people together who have responded to it. That is what it does, it causes these two reactions, either negatively as people reject the person and work of Jesus Christ or they respond positively as people who hear the gospel and accept it. When it happens in the positive sense of bringing those together who have responded positively as the Lord has worked within them you see something wonderful happen, you see people who have little in common united together for their love of the Lord. They come together in their desire to see people come to know the Lord and while they may have little or even nothing in common they share a love for the Lord Jesus Christ, they are now united in Him. What a wonderful truth for us, I have met many people across this world, even the other night at an ordination from different corners of the globe and what unites us is that we are children of the living God, bothers and sisters. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q88 What are the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to usthe benefits of redemption? The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. (Matt. 28:19–20, Acts 2:42,46–47) 1st July 2023
Pray (ACts) Read (Matthew 25v14-30) Message (Scott Woodburn) Benjamin Franklin probably didn't say "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" and Martin Luther probably didn't say "If I believed the world were to end tomorrow, I would still plant a tree today." That might be news to some of you but there is no evidence to suggest that Luther ever made this often repeated comment. The famous reformer didn't utter those words but wisdom is found in them regardless of their source. What the phrase teaches us is that we are to live in light of Christ's return whilst doing our duty to God and our neighbour each day. Jesus taught a parable with a similar thrust. A master was going on a long journey and he entrusted to his servants a substantial amount of money (v14-15). To one he gave five talents, to another two talents and to a final servant one talent. It is difficult to quantify the modern value of a talent but one commentator suggests that a talent could be worth something like a quarter of a million pounds. Therefore, the master was incredibly generous and gave to his servants according to their ability before going on his journey (v15). The first two servants took their talents and worked to double the amount (v16-17). But the third servant took his talent and buried it in the ground (v18). When the master returned he settled accounts with his servants. He was delighted with the first two and told them "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." (v21,23) However the master's smile turned to a frown when he spoke to the third servant. That servant had not responded well to his master's generosity and saw him in a negative light saying "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours." (v24-25) The master's response was scathing. He marvelled at the attitude of his servant and wondered if the master was so bad, why didn't the servant just invest the money at a bank so at the very least his master would receive the interest? The servant had completely misunderstood his master and his own responsibility and in response he was stripped of his one talent which was given to the first servant (v28). Furthermore the master had the third servant thrown outside into outer darkness (v30). What are we to take from this parable? The master is Christ and He is surely coming soon. In the meantime we are to make the most of the gifts entrusted to us by the Lord. The Christian has no business retreating to an underground bunker fleeing from the world to await Christ's return. Instead we are to be active in the Lord's business, serving Him, praising Him and making Him known. We have been given varying gifts and abilities which are to be used for the glory of God. No one has an opt out. No one can sit on the sidelines. I've always enjoyed Paul's challenge to the Thessalonians who had given up work in anticipation of the Lord's return. Paul urged them "aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you" (1 Thessalonians 4v11) In other words, Christ might return tomorrow but you should still plant that tree today. The life devoted to the things of God is not wasted and will result in having an abundance when Christ comes (v29). Not so for the one who misunderstands God and thinks they owe Him nothing. To the one who lives for self and personal glory giving no regard to the Lord, only judgement and hell awaits. How then shall we live? To God alone the glory, knowing that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Brothers and sisters, go and plant that tree. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q87 What is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience. |
Alan
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