Year 2 Day 229
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 18 Message - Scott Woodburn Abraham found himself sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. If his mind was on the warmth of the afternoon he soon had altogether more serious business to transact for Abraham received a visit from the Lord God Himself. We can’t be sure if Abraham initially knew who his visitors were, but regardless he extended a hand of grace filled hospitality to the Lord. Cakes were to be baked, a young calf was to be slaughtered and the visitors would be offered the meal with curds and milk. It was at this stage that the Lord made it clear why He had come to visit Abraham’s tent. The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (v10) This was an extraordinary claim. Sarah by her own admission was “worn out” (v12) and so she laughed at the thought of a child so late in life. We can quickly judge Sarah’s laughter harshly and yet we are just the same! We know the promises of God and struggle to believe that they are true. How often have we been rebuked when the Lord has answered a prayer that we thought to be impossible? As Abraham and Sarah would be told “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (v14) The elderly couple would be given a son for the Lord is not in the habit of lying or failing to keep His promises. Such a wonderful promise is quickly followed by serious judgement. The Lord told Abraham that judgement was coming upon Sodom and Gomorrah. ”Then the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.’” (v20-21) These cities were well known for their wicked ways and while the Lord is always patient, eventually His bowl of judgement will be poured out. Abraham rightfully refuses to rejoice at the impending destruction of the wicked. Indeed he is concerned that those counted as righteous might be caught up in God’s wrath (v23). What if there are 50 righteous? What about 45? What about 30 or 20? What about just 10? Will the Lord sweep away a whole city along with 10 of His own? The Lord’s response is gracious. “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” (v32) Did the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah consider the grace of God? Did they know the danger they were in? Did they consider that the presence of God’s people was a blessing and not a hindrance? Of course not. They had no regard for the Lord or His people and continued upon their sinful path until it was too late. Many thousands of years have passed since the Lord visited Abraham’s tent and yet sinful humanity still refuses to be told. But told what? Many Church leaders have spoken plenty in the past week about climate change and they have urged great action to take place before it is too late. I’d rather have many church leaders speaking plenty about Christ and urging repentance and faith before it is too late. Humanity has not changed but praise be, neither has the Lord. He remains the God for whom nothing is impossible - even the salvation of sinners. He remains the God for whom sin is an abomination - never underestimate His holiness and wrath. He remains the God who cannot break a promise - rejoice that His Word is true. He remains the God who preserves all of His children - His eye rests upon the very hairs of your head. He remains the God who has appointed a day of judgement - the righteous will not be swept away but the wicked will perish. Rest in Him this day for our Lord will always do what is right (v25). Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q106 What do we pray for in the sixth petition? In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we pray, that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.
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Year 2 Day 228
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 5:6-12 Message - Alan Burke Poor Dagon, he had lost his hands (and his head) now we learn that the Lord’s hand was heavy upon the people Just as the Lord’s hand had been at work in Egypt, showing his mighty power, likewise here he demonstrates his power and he brings devastation upon the people. The devastation brought death, they were affected with tumours. The Lord was bringing his judgement upon the people, he was displaying his glory, and if the defeat of Dagon had gone unnoticed to them, this was inescapable. The Lord’s had brought devastation, the people were afflicted with tumours they get their leaders together (remember Dagon’s at the repair shop), and they ask them what to do. The answer they come up with is to send the ark to Gath. I wonder how the king of Gath felt about this but one thing to notice is that the Philistines are not wanting to give the ark back, they want to hold on to it for the time being. And of course there is a sense that it makes sense. Send the ark to Gath, see what happens, and if nothing happens then sure we’ll just put this down to something else, but it wasn’t a coincidence it was the Lord. Again the Lord’s hand is heavily upon them, there was panic, the people were affected, young and old with an outbreak of tumours, the Lord is bringing his judgment upon the whole people, no one is escaping, this was the Lord at work. The people of Gath moved the ark of God to Ekron, notice this time is different from the last time, before in Ashdod they had got the rulers together, here the people knew what was going on and they just wanted rid of the ark. They had the most sense out of all the Philistines, no crisis meeting is held just get it shifted to the closet city Ekron. As it enters Ekron see there what they shout in verse 10, “they have brought the ark of the god of Israel round to us to kill us and our people”. The ark had brought devastation to where it had been and terror across the whole land of the Philistines. Before we are told what happened, the people of Ekron called together the rulers of the Philistines and they simply want the thing sent back from where it came from. This is an act of complete surrender, and then we are told why, God’s hand was very heavy upon the city. Those who did not die were affected with tumours. Do we see in all of this how the Lord was at work, he had cast down their idol, he had struck the people in his wrath, and it was message for the Philistines as well as his own people. It seemed that the Lord was the defeated one, he was the one who had lost, the ark was captured, the glory of the Lord departed at the end of chapter four, all seemed lost but nothing was further from the truth. The Lord in what seemed like the end bought glory to himself, likewise on the cross, as Jesus there nailed to it, executed it weakness it seemed that the Lord was once more defeated, but the Lord was at work for his glory, three days later Jesus rose, and there was a victory over sin and the grave so that we might know the joys of sins forgiven. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q105 What do we pray for in the fifth petition? In the fifth petition, (which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, (Matt. 6:12)) we pray, That God, for Christ’ s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; (Ps. 51:1–2,7,9, Dan. 9:17–19) which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. (Luke 11:4, Matt. 18:35) Year 2 Day 227
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 17 Message - Scott Woodburn Thirteen years later Abram and Sarai still did not have a son. Ishmael was growing up but he still didn’t have a little brother. Abram was now 99 years old and humanly speaking was as good as dead (Hebrews 11v12). Into this scenario the Lord moved. In this chapter the Lord does several things. Firstly, he reiterates His covenant with Abram, summed up by the wonderful phrase “to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” (v7) Secondly, he changes Abram’s name from Abram to Abraham. Abram means “exalted father” which perhaps stung Abram as he longed for a son. Abraham means “father of a multitude” which would soon prove to be a suitable name for Abraham the man of faith. To underline that He fully intended to keep His promise, the Lord gave Abraham a covenant sign. Abraham and his descendants were to be circumcised as a reminder in their flesh that God was faithful (v11). What would the significance of such a reminder be? As the foreskin was removed and blood was shed, Abraham and his descendants would remember that a seed was coming. This seed would be cut off for our sake, His blood would be shed and in Him all the nations of the world would be blessed. Circumcision was not an empty ritual but was to be received by faith in the Redeemer to come. Later the Lord would promise Abraham a son called Isaac meaning “he laughs” (v19). Isaac would come from Abraham and Sarai despite Abraham wondering and laughing “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?” (v17). But nothing is too hard for the Lord. A child would be born to Abraham and whilst the Lord would make Ishmael a great nation (v20) the covenant would be established with Isaac (v21). That very day Abraham and the males of his house were circumcised in faithful anticipation of what the Lord was about to do (v23). We can be thankful for living on this side of the cross. We see in the pages of the Scriptures that the Lord did all that He promised and that the seed of the woman was Jesus Christ our Lord. Today we baptise not circumcise. Christ was cut off for us and His blood was shed, so now circumcision has been replaced by baptism, reminding us of the cleansing flow of God’s forgiveness. Yet we haven’t done away with the imagery of circumcision. A Christian is someone whose heart has been turned from stone to flesh. Their heart has been cleansed. Their heart has been made new. A true follower of Christ has received the Gospel by faith and doesn’t go through the motions of religious rituals. Paul would put it this way “But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” (Romans 2v29) The ancient sign of circumcision is no longer practiced in the church of Christ and yet as the Holy Spirit works, sinful hard hearts are circumcised through faith in Christ. This is a supernatural and miraculous work and one that should cause you great joy. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5v17) Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q104 What do we pray for in the fourth petition? In the fourth petition, which is, Give us this day our daily bread,” we pray, that of God’s free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them. Year 2 Day 226
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 5:1-5 Message - Alan Burke It use to be when you broke stuff it got fixed, alright we do that still with some things like cars but do you remember the man who use to fix toasters, it might have been a woman who fixed yours but I remember a man. I didn’t know his name but when the toaster, the kettle, the TV broke when, I was a wain the thing got taken your ‘your man’, you know your man who fixed things. Now it’s just easier to throw it out and sure we can get it on line next day delivery sure. Well Dagon was off with your man getting fixed because the Lord God had so throughly broken him into pieces, I wonder though what they did without cement and super glue, anyway that’s not the point. The point is that Dagon the one who was supposed to be sovereign over all lay in bits, and the Lord God had defeated him. Even without his people, in a foreign land, the Lord his working out his purposes, his people could have done with dwelling more of the question that they asked in light of their initial defeat to the Philistines when four thousand were dead, when they asked… “Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today?” If they had understood that what the Lord required of them, their task, like ours is to honour him in all of lives, to remain faithful rather than trying to twist his arm to do our bidding and do what we want. The Lord was not powerless, he is not powerless and he will have the victory. The ark was in Ashdod because the people had failed to live according to God’s way, they had turned from him, they had been faithless. What we are to do is to be faithful, to honour God, to live according to his ways, turning to him in his power, putting him first in our lives, living according to his will in this age of darkness. As the church, what we need to know is that the Lord has the victory. The evil age that is under the influence of Satan, that is ever increasingly hostile to the Lord and his people, tells us to change, that we need to sort ourselves out otherwise we will be on the wrong side of history, we need to compromise if we want to survive and have anything to offer. But what we are to do is to remain faithful to the Lord God and to stand abasing the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). That we are to be faithful, knowing that the Lord will do it in his own time, he will do what he wants, he will make his glory known for he is not some powerless Dagon or the idols and false gods of this world he is the Lord God almighty. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q103 What do we pray for in the third petition? In the third petition, (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven, (Matt. 6:10)) we pray, That God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, (Ps. 67, Ps. 119:36, Matt. 26:39, 2 Sam. 15:25, Job 1:21) as the angels do in heaven. (Ps. 103:20–21) Year 2 Day 225
Pray (ACts) Read - Genesis 16 Message - Scott Woodburn How long should you wait to get what you want? A few weeks? Months? Years? Sometimes we get sick of waiting and decide to take matters into our own hands. Abram had received God’s promise by faith but now was going to bring about the promise by the flesh. Abram and his wife Sarai were childless and so came up with the plan for Abram to sleep with his wife’s servant Hagar. If all went according to the earthly plan Hagar would produce an heir and so the promise of God would be fulfilled. Unsurprisingly none of this was with the Lord’s blessing. Hagar did indeed fall pregnant but she was immediately filled with sinful pride and arrogance towards Sarai. Sarai for her part is filled with bitterness and cries to Abram “May the wrong done to me be on you!” (v5) It seems that Sarai has forgotten that the whole episode was her idea! Abram’s response doesn’t cover him in glory. “Do to her as you please” he urged his wife (v6). Or in other words Abram’s attitude is “nothing to do with me!” The whole story is a sinful mess that came about due to the unwillingness to wait upon the sovereignty of Almighty God. Sadly it gets worse. Hagar is forced to flee from Sarai’s harsh treatment and so this young pregnant girl finds herself alone in the wilderness (v7). Sin upon sin upon sin and the outcome is bitterness, division and isolation. Utterly tragic. However if Abram washed his hands of the matter, the Lord didn’t. In verse seven we meet an angel for the first time in the Scriptures, only this angel is THE angel of the Lord (v7). Whenever we meet such a statement we believe that we see a pre-incarnation appearance of Christ. Jesus is eternal and before he came in the flesh He was very much active and appeared throughout the Old Testament. It was the Lord therefore who came and sought out the outcast telling Hagar that she was indeed pregnant with a son. His name would be Ishmael meaning “God hears” for the Lord had heard the cries of Hagar’s heart. From Ishmael would come a multitude of people who would know trouble and strife. Hagar understands that not only does God hear but God sees. The name of the well where the Lord met with Hagar was to be called “Beer-lahai-roi” (v14) meaning “the well of the living God who sees” and so Hagar returns to Abram with the news of her meeting with the Lord. The message to her master would be clear - God hears and sees and will surely keep His promise. Brothers and sisters waiting is hard but rushing into to sin is even worse. At times it may seem that the Lord has no regard for us and that we currently walk through the wilderness. But today we remember that the Lord came to seek and to save the lost. We were once dead in sin and had no regard for the Lord and then on a bright shining day, he sought us out and opened our eyes. He has not changed. He is still for you. He remains the God who hears and sees…just you wait and see. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q102 What do we pray for in the second petition? In the second petition, which is, Thy kingdom come,” we pray, that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed; and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it; and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened. Year 2 Day 224
Pray (ACts) Read - 1 Samuel 5:1-5 Message - Alan Burke There is but one living and true God, it is an exclusive claim that is made throughout scripture, all other gods are as good as an ornament on your mantlepiece for all the good they do. We live in an age that despises the truth, we want to call black white and white black but it doesn’t change the truth and the truth of scripture is there is one God and all other gods are but idols. Here we see that and it is humours and revealing. Where we are is that Israel has been defeated, the ark of the covenant captured, the Philistines here take it to Ashdod the furtherest Philistine city away from Israel and they put ark in the temple of Dagon. Dagon was their god, well he was one of them, he was their chief god and what they are doing is putting the defeated God of the Israelites at the feet of their mighty god who had brought them victory. After all the God of Israel was still a god even if he was a defeated god and they added him to their collection. Like a collection of good luck charms, the more you have the better, sure one of them might work when we need it (they won’t by the way). Anyway here we have the ark of the covenant God of Israel brought into the house of Dagon and something amazing happens. When they wake early the next morning, you know jogger time before the traffic starts, well when they wake Dagon is there lying prostate on the ground face down before the ark. The picture that is present here is of Dagon, worshiping the Lord of the Israelites, that’s not what Philistines had intended by putting the ark there, the ark was there as a defeated foe, at the feet of their mighty Dagon. And then, just so we don’t loose the significance of this, and you don’t miss the humour we are told they put Dagon back in his place. Oh mighty Dagon had to be put back in his place, you can imagine the hoists and the ropes lifting such a mighty god, pushing and heaving. How wonderful Dagon was. The next day, just so the Philistines didn’t miss it after putting the mighty Dagon back in his place he is lying in bits, his head and hands had been broken off and lying on the threshold. Dagon lying before the ark of the Lord, with his head and hands broken off, it was a clear symbol that the Lord had conquered Dagon so completely, and a warning to the people if they did not act that much worse to come. Appearances can be deceptive, they were in the defeat of the Israelites and the apparent defeat of the Lord God at the hand of the Philistines. Initially it may have seemed to the people of Israel that all was lost, that the Lord had abandoned them, that the glory of the Lord had departed, but we see even when things look bleak, even when things seem far from the case, the victory is the Lord’s. Maybe you look at the culture around us, and think that the Lord is on the loosing side, the culture is ever increasingly hostile to the Lord and his people. The elected representatives of this land seem to want nothing to do with him. Maybe we think that the church needs to be much more vocal, much more proactive, that we need to be on the defensive, but here we see that the Lord God will cast down the false gods of the nations, the false ideologies, the false narratives of this world, the Lord God will give the victory. For there is but one living and true God. Pray (acTS) Sing WSC Q101 What do we pray for in the first petition? In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed be thy name, (Matt. 6:9)) we pray, That God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known; (Ps. 67:2–3) and that he would dispose all things to his own glory. (Ps. 83) |
Alan
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