Day 227
Pray (ACts) Read - Luke 12:13-21 and 1 John 2:17 Message - Alan Burke Thirty two years, that’s how long I have to work before I will reach retirement as the state pension age is set to increase to 68 sometime between 2044 and 2046. Who knows what will happen in the years in-between. Have you thought about your retirement, maybe you are reading this and you are already retired and you wonder where the time has gone and for others you long for the day to put your feet up, when you don’t have to worry about having to work anymore. Jesus tells a parable about a rich fool who’s land produced plenty, having no where to store his crops he though tear down his barns build larger ones, with ample goods laid up to enjoy his retirement, to eat drink and be merry, and what did God say, Fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared whose all will they be? (Paraphrased Lk 12:13-21). The rich fool was focused on the here and now but as John continues he reminds us that this world is perishing (17). Many people are so focused on living for the now, planing for their retirement, looking for the easy life, that they fail to see the temporal character of this material life. In the midst of it all what is your focus, the now or what is to come? Do you love God or love this world? This theme is echoed throughout scripture, the first commandment is you shall have no other gods before me, Joshua command the children of Israel to choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord, Jesus warned no one can serve two masters either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other, you cannot serve both God and money (Mt 6:24). Now John here makes the same point that there can only be one allegiance, one loyalty, there is no way to have a foot in each camp, we cannot have a divided allegiance we will either hate one and love the other, devoted to one and despise the other. Indulgence never satisfies, it only wets the appetite for more. The one who does the will of God 17b, is that they abide forever, doing the will of God is loving the Father. This world attracts and ensnares so many people, they love it, they follow it’s ways, they are seduced by it, they indulge themselves, they listen to its message, but they will pass away but for those who show their love of the Father in their obedience to his will, will live forever. Loving the Father (v15) and doing the will of God (v17) are not separate things. This world is perishing, it is passing away, is it what you or living for or is it God? Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Question 7 What are the decrees of God? The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. (Eph. 1:4,11, Rom. 9:22–23)
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Day 226
Pray (ACts) Read - 2 Corinthians 8 Message - Scott Woodburn It is Paul's hope that the Corinthians will play their part in supporting the wider church. There was a severe famine and the churches particularly in Judea were struggling. We talked on Tuesday about the holy catholic church or in plain terms the universal or worldwide church, none of us are independent from the rest of Christ's Bride. Paul doesn't command the Corinthians to give generously (v8a), instead he hopes that the earnestness or example of the Macedonians (who had given beyond their means) would see a similar result in Corinth proving the genuineness of their love (v8b). Ultimately though, regardless of the sincerity of the Macedonians, it is Christ who is the example of generosity. Paul reminds the Corinthians of Christ's grace to them. Grace is God's undeserved favour to those who deserve His wrath. Christ was rich yet willingly became poor so that He might bring riches to the Corinthians (v9). Paul here doesn't speak about silver or gold but the willing obedience and condescension of Christ. He left His heavenly abode and took on flesh. He willingly lowered Himself to a humble estate and finally was nailed to a cross. He laid aside the riches of heaven and became a poor and suffering servant for the sake of His church. All who receive Jesus by faith receive immeasurable riches in this life and in the one to come. Our bank balances may not increase but Christ's righteousness is credited (imputed) to our account. This is something that all the gold in the world cannot buy. Therefore Paul urges the Corinthians, in light of the Gospel, to finish the work that they had already started (v10). Paul had urged them in 1 Corinthians 16 to put aside something on the first day of the week to add to the collection for the saints. They had desired to do it and now it was time for them to finish doing it so that the collection could be taken to the churches in Judea (v11). This collection was to based on "what you have" (v11b). Paul doesn't wish to plunge the Corinthians into poverty, instead their readiness to contribute (v12a) should be matched by an offering from that which God has blessed them (v12b). They are to give according to their means, so that in their time of abundance, the Corinthians would meet the needs of their brothers and sisters going through a time of lack (v13-14). To underscore his point, Paul takes the Corinthians to Exodus 16v18. The Lord provided manna for His people in the wilderness. Each family was to gather about two litres each. Those who gathered much had enough and those who gathered less had enough. There was no disappointment and no one was left to starve. The western church has much about it to be criticised and yet we cannot deny that the Lord has blessed us with a superabundancce of wealth. Churches throughout our land are property owners. Old buildings are torn down and replaced with bright shiny church complexes. Towns with various fellowships all spend small fortunes on having their own little corners. Edengrove is no different and I'm sure your fellowship is the same. I'm reminded of the prayer I once heard in a far off land. I couldn't understand a word of it but when it was translated I was humbled. It went something like this "Lord we thank you today for our brothers in the west. Thank you for making them rich and we pray that they would continue to be rich. With their riches may they continue to support the church all over the world." Charles Hodge puts it this way "the superabundance of one should be employed in relieving the necessities of others." May our abundance in this present time be used willingly and generously to support the work of the church throughout the world. In Christ's name and for His sake. Amen. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q6 How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. Day 225
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 John 2:16 Message - Alan Burke Have you had your breakfast yet? What was it today, porridge, full ulster, a bowl of fruit, boiled egg and toast, we all like different things and I even know someone who eats mackerel for breakfast every day. But why do we not just eat porridge for every meal of every day, it would save you a fortune, you might even loose a bit of weight although that would probably be because you just couldn’t face another bowl of it after a week and would prefer to starve. Ecclesiastes reminds us “And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.” (8:15) It would be absurd to deny that God in his goodness has not given us much pleasure in this life or this world, after all he did not intend life to be miserable for when he created he made it all very good (Gen 1:31). We were created by God with appetites and desires that can be satisfied in the right and appropriate way. Yet John has just told us not to love the world or things of this world and here he explains what that means, for we can all take pleasure in the good things that God has given us in a sinful way, ways in which the satisfaction of our appetites and desires are sinful. Here John focuses our minds on three things, three desires, desires of the flesh, the eyes and pride, they are a warning to us for giving into them will do us more harm than good, giving into these things will do us more harm that good. Firstly desires of the flesh. Desire in and of itself is neither good or bad, rather it is the object of that desire that causes it to be good or bad. The desire to procreate is a good thing but when that desire transforms into self seeking gratification that overflows in how we look at others, how we think of others, how we talk to others then it is wrong. We could think of many more examples of lust for physical pleasure. Secondly desires of the eyes - they eyes are often the source of desire. This isn’t just one thing in one way, this is something that can affect us all in so many ways. When we see something and it slowly captivates our thoughts and it becomes our desire. What an apt warning to us in todays age, when we are constantly being bombarded by adverts as we watch television, as we browse the internet, as we engage in social media, things that captivate the eyes that lead us to desire more and more, coveting those things. Or what about the lifestyle magazines that are filled with beautiful pictures of homes, or cars, or luxury items that can all be ours and we don’t need to worry about the cost we can just take our credit. Thirdly the Pride of life - the word that is used here for ‘life’ denotes the things that support life, like the roof over your head, the clothes on your back - pride means boasting, arrogance, the desire to impress. These things together, the pride of life is a life that is lived in self sufficiency, independence from God. We all face battles and temptations like this every day, and we often fail, but John’s point is if you give in go on continually yielding to these these things then you are showing your love for the world not God. What we need to understand is that the world and what it offers us cannot produce what it offers us, the attractions of this world are fundamentally deceptive, it’s like drinking salt water, far from brining satisfaction the unquenchable thirst is increased, for the believer if the believer does not say no then the unquenchable thirst can take over. Do not love the world or the things of this world (15). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Question 5 Are there more Gods than one? There is but One only, the living and true God. (Deut. 6:4, Jer. 10:10) Day 224
Pray (ACts) Read - 2 Corinthians 8 Message - Scott Woodburn I'd imagine that you know who I am and what I am, but for those of you who aren't sure, my name is Scott Woodburn and I'm a Presbyterian. Now there are a multitude of reasons why I'm a Presbyterian but one of them is that I don't believe any part of the church of Jesus Christ is independent. Today independence in the church is seen as a good thing. Many fellowships proudly declare themselves to be "non-denominational" because as we all know there is nothing worse or more unbiblical than being part of a denomination! Today I'm not banging the denomination drum but instead as we consider this passage we see quickly that Paul would never have trumpeted the independence of any part of the church. The church in Judea was struggling. During the reign of the Emperor Claudius there had been a great famine with the fellowships in Judea taking a particularly heavy blow. Relief had already been sent from Antioch (Acts 11v27-20) and Paul was now able to tell the Corinthians about the response of the church in Macedonia. Things in Macedonia weren't wonderful, they had endured their own severe test of affliction (v2a) but their experience of God's grace (v1) had resulted in an abundance of joy (v2b) that had overflowed in a incredibly generous response (v2d). Here is the reality of the Gospel. As we receive Christ by faith so the Gospel transforms us every day. Hard hearts become soft and selfishness is replaced by generosity. Even though the Macedonians themselves knew extreme poverty (v2c), Paul amazingly tells us that the Macedonians had given according to their means (v3a) and by their own decision had given beyond their means (v3b). Paul hadn't guilt tripped the Macedonians. As they had experienced the abundance of God's grace, it had naturally overflowed into an abundance of giving. They went on to beg Paul for the privilege of helping their fellow Christians (v4). I'm certain that most Macedonians would probably never visit Judea but that certainly was no issue as they were obviously men and women who believed in the holy catholic church. Wait...what? Am I advocating union with Rome? No, not now and not until all superstition and falsehood is put aside and the Gospel of grace thunders out from the Vatican. Instead the holy catholic church is how we speak of Christ's Bride. She is holy or set apart and she is catholic or universal. The church doesn't belong to a certain people group, it isn't a British body, it isn't exclusively for the whites and it isn't split into small independent chunks. The Christians in Macedonia had more in common with the Christians in Judea than they did with their pagan neighbours. The church is one body with Christ as it's head. The Macedonians belonged first to the Lord which flowed into service to the church (v5). Titus had already begun a collection among the Corinthians and this should now be continued (v6) and Paul expects that as the Corinthians excel in so much, so too should they excel in generosity for the holy catholic church. This passage is a wonderful corrective to our modern "me first" thinking. We are "me first" when we go to church and we are "me first" when we go home. As we read this passage we cannot escape the interdependence of the church. Read that sentence again...I said inter-dependence NOT in-dependence. We are to love and support each other at home and in far flung places that we will never see or go. As Christians in Ballynahinch we have more in common with Christians in Belarus than we do with pagans living in our street. May the Lord forgive our selfishness of spirit and may we excel in generosity to the church catholic. As we have been loved abundantly by Christ may we in turn love and support the household and family of God. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q4 What is God? God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Day 223
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 John 2:15 Message - Alan Burke You will have no doubt seen it at accident black spots, on poles round the country side, on t-shirts, hoodies, sandwich boards, on lovely ornamental pieces in homes, I’ve even seen it on a tattoo. Any ideas? Well it’s likely one of the best known verses in scripture and it is 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.” (KJV). ‘God so loved the world’! Today we look not to John 3:16 but 1 John 2:15, what is striking is that John tells us “Do not love the world or the things in the world”. How on earth does this square with John 3:16, God loved the world and we are not to love the world. Let’s think briefly about what John emphasises in the gospel of John and what is emphasised here in this letter. The emphasis in John 3:16 is on the remarkable love, incredible love that God showed towards a corrupt and sinful world, Paul make the point in Romans (5:6-8), that the Love of God is seen in how Christ died for the ungodly, while we were still sinners. The emphasis of world is on the human race, God’s love for his creatures, made in his image, that he gave his Son to save it. Yet here the word ‘world’ has a different emphasis, look to 1 John 5:19; "we know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” John as he speaks to believers, is telling them that as children of God that their love should not be focused on that which is under control of the evil one. As he had spoke of in chapter one, that which is in darkness, a world that is ultimately hostile towards God and his people, that is opposed to the truth, for it is under the control of Satan. Yes we should love the people of the world enough to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the Love of God with them but we should not love the morally of this corrupt world that opposes God and his followers, that seeks to tempt his followers into sin. The epistle of James reminds us that friendship with the world is hatred towards God (4:4). As believers we are in Christ, we escape the wrath of God, we have passed from death to life, we life in the light and not the darkness as John has already remind us in chapter 1 (5-10). Yet the inescapable truth is that we still are part of this world, even though this world is not our home, we are exposed to temptation as we await the coming of Jesus, after all although we cannot live by bread alone we cannot live without bread either. We are in the world and yet we are not to love this world. Should we start looking for some land for sale down the road, anyone know of anywhere where we could put a meetinghouse and a hundred or so families, set up a new community, cutting ourselves off from the world, renounce the trappings of the modern world we live in, become like the Amish in Pennsylvania? There may be part of us that thinks that sounds iddilic but that is not what we are to do. Instead what we are to do is to keep watch incase we fall into the trap that they become so enmeshed in the world around us that we are no different than it. Because if we love the world we are really showing that the Father is not in us as we are to love God above all else (Mk 12:30). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Question 3 What do the scriptures principally teach? The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. (2 Tim. 1:13, 2 Tim. 3:16) |
Alan
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