Date, times and seasons

God's will for YOU

     When I was a newly saved teenager, and even into my twenties, I was very concerned about God’s will for my life. I pictured it as a fixed plan with all the details laid out as to education, job, location, wife, and all the rest. Any preacher who ventured to speak about knowing God’s will had my full attention. But they never answered my questions the way I wanted.

     I finally had to let go and more or less follow my own inclinations. I’m a firm believer in free will and now, looking back, I see that my picture of God’s will for my life was rigid, fixed, and far from free. In fact I now believe that the approach I finally took was exactly what God wanted, with the proviso that each decision should consciously be made to please the Lord.

     To illustrate from my own life—I studied chemistry in university. I was never that good at it, but at the time all the money was supposed to be in science and technology. (Not the best choice!)  When I first came to Toronto, there were two churches I considered joining—one had relatives and friends, the other was much closer to work. I chose the one closer to work and my home, as being the more God-honouring, and He blessed me in turn, by having me meet my future wife there. (A good choice!)

     To summarize, my understanding of finding God’s will for your life is this:—

•  Realize that God has no fixed mould of a plan that you must fit into. That would be determinism, and complete over-ruling of your free will.
• Read your Bible—this is the only place where you can “find out what pleases the Lord” (Eph. 5:10) and this is where God speaks: “Listen to Him!” (Matt.17:5)
• Make good choices. We learn how to make good choices by reading and listening and praying. For example, when two or more alternatives face you, try to prioritize them from “most pleasing to the Lord” to “least pleasing”, bearing in mind your own gifts. Aspiring to be a nurse when the sight of blood makes you ill, would be inappropriate.
• Follow other general guidelines set out in Scripture for all believers, such as, “not giving up meeting together” (Heb.10:25); “do not be yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor.6:14); “on the first day of every week…set aside a sum of money” (1 Cor.16:2); “love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8); and “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.” (Phil.4:8) 

     There are many other suggestions that could be given, but we want to keep this simple. God has given us a will that can agree with Him or oppose Him. Once again, a motto that I’ve tried to apply to my own life is:

“Find out what pleases the LORD!”

 

God raises the dead!

It’s interesting to look at how the first evangelists presented the gospel to different audiences. For instance, the Lord Himself reviewed Old Testament prophecy to the two Jewish disciples on the road to Emmaus, in Luke 24. His life, death, and resurrection were all predicted.

Then Peter applied OT scriptures at Pentecost when the Jews asked what they should do (Acts 2). Stephen, speaking to the Sanhedrin in Acts 7, reviewed the entire history of Israel. Even Philip, in the desert (Acts 8:32) and Peter, at Cornelius’ house (Acts 10:23), applied OT scripture.

But what was Paul’s approach, as he addressed a  Gentile, pagan audience, much like we see right here in Burlington?—an audience that knew nothing of OT promises:— God “commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)

Resurrection!—a totally new thought to Gentiles! The Sadducees disbelieved, but Jesus said of them, “You do greatly err.” Even the disciples thought it was “nonsense” (Luke 24:11). The fact of resurrection is the key to all the promises of the OT. For instance, Job said, “In my flesh shall I see God.” Abraham was willing to put the knife to his son because he knew that God would bring him to life again (Rom.4:3; Gal.3:6). All through the gospels, the Lord repeated his promise, “until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead” (Matt.17:9); “the third day he will be raised to life” (Matt.17:23); “on the third day he will rise again” (Luke 18:33.

Like the Athenians, modern men scoff at the thought of resurrection. It is the primary target of most attacks by the “New Atheists”. They think that when the body dies, the “person” no longer exists. But we have the lifelong eyewitness accounts of hundreds of believers who saw Jesus resurrected and glorious. We have experienced conversion ourselves, and “God’s Spirit witnesses with our spirit.”

Don Francisco’s song is true:

      He’s alive! He’s alive!

         He’s alive and I’m forgiven!

      Heaven’s gates are open wide!   
                                                                                                                

Little ones who stumble

In Luke 17:1-3, Jesus says, “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come,” and woe to those who “cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

Just who are these little ones? Are they little children? Are they new believers? It seems most likely that they are simple, unsophisticated believers, old or young, who look to their teachers and maybe don’t do that much thinking for themselves. They would be Christians still living on milk, so-to-speak, when some of them, at least, should be on strong meat.

Stumbling can happen—Remember that some were teaching that the resurrection had already taken place (2 Tim.2:18)      and they destroyed the faith of some; some were teaching that circumcision and the law were still required (Gal.6:12); some     refused to receive the apostle John (3 John 1:9). Sadly, all of these were causing stumbling.

C.S.Lewis made the point that much of what he wrote was what he aspired to, not always what he had achieved. Maybe the very best thing we can do to avoid stumbling—or causing it— is to follow the apostle Paul’s recommendations to the Ephesians (4:1) about how to just “live”:—

“Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”     
                                                                                                                             
 

Hymn of the Month: “What a Friend we have in Jesus”

          This hymn appeared in this Newsletter in July, 2005, but we think it deserves a repeat, not the least because it was written  here in Canada. There are three monuments to Joseph Scriven, the hymn writer— one in Port Hope, one near the highway into Bewdley, and the major one at his gravesite in a cemetery overlooking Rice Lake.

        Scriven was born at Ballymoney Lodge, Banbridge,  Ireland, in September, 1819; he heard the gospel in Merrion Hall, Dublin and he associated with the Christians there; his fiancée drowned in the River Bann in 1844, the day before they were to be married; he immigrated to Canada in 1845-47.

              It seems Joseph spent several years in western Ontario, in the areas of Clinton, Woodstock, and Brantford, travelled home to Ireland briefly, visited the Middle East as a tutor, then returned to Canada. About 1850 he joined the Pengelley family near Bailieboro and remained for about five years as tutor to their children. Sadly, he lost his second fiancée Eliza Roche, to TB and pneumonia in August, 1860. After Eliza’s death he devoted much of his time to helping the poor and destitute, and to preaching, in Bewdley in the winter and in Port Hope in summer.

        Opposition arose. The Port Hope Guide of August 9, 1873, reported: “On Saturday evening August 2, Constable Johnston arrested Joseph Scriven while the latter, as is his wont, was preaching on the street, and conveyed him to the lock-up. Several young men, fearing he would be kept in confinement during Sunday, went to procure his release, but found that C. Brent, J.P. had already set him at liberty.Mr. Scriven, on Monday morning, appeared before the magistrate who told him to cease preaching on the front streets on Saturdays.Johnston is generally condemned for making the arrest, particularly as profanity and obscenity on the streets go unchecked.”

        In the Port Hope Times of September 2, 1880, we read: “A man named Scribbins has been, for some time past, in the habit of preaching on Ontario street, near Walton, yelling and shouting like a good fellow occasionally. This man has become a nuisance and we appeal to the authorities to remove him. If he must preach, let him take up a position in the market-square in the afternoon, where he will not be in the way, and where he will not retard anyone from work which requires to be done in a given time. Mr. Scribbins may be doing good, but we fail to see it.”

        A Port Hope history website says, “Scriven became a familiar sight around Port Hope, a big man with bushy white hair and full white beard, carrying a buck and a bucksaw, offering to cut wood for anyone who was unable to cut his own or pay someone to do it for him. But he wouldn’t cut wood for hire.”

        Joseph wrote this poem as a consolation for his mother when she faced a time of deep distress in the late 1850s, but the true author was never known until Scriven disclosed  on his deathbed, to his friend James Sackville, “I wrote it. The Lord and I did it between us.”

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

   All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

   Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,

   O what needless pain we bear!

All because we do not carry

   Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?

   Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged:

   Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Can we find a friend so faithful,

   Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness:

   Take it to the Lord in prayer!

Are we weak and heavy-laden,

   Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Saviour, still our refuge:

   Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

   Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee;

   Thou will find a solace there.

Blessèd Saviour, Thou hast promised

  Thou wilt all our burdens bear.

May we ever, Lord, be bringing

   All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright unclouded

   There will be no need for prayer.

Rapture, praise and endless worship

  Will be our sweet portion there.

        On August 10, 1886, Scriven rose from his bed in the night and left the house unseen. The next morning his body was found in the spillway of Sackville’s grist-mill but the coroner ruled for misadventure, and no inquest was called. His legacy was preaching “with simple language and quiet, unassuming delivery,” and charity—tending a cow for a Port Hope widow, selling his watch to replace someone’s lost cow, and giving away his own possessions to the point of poverty for himself.

        In 1869, Scriven published in Peterborough, Hymns and other verses. One of these hymns, expressly intended by Scriven “to be sung at the Lord’s Supper” says,

Three precious truths at once we see;

   Made, by Thy death and rising, free,
Our joy is to await the third—
   The glorious coming of our Lord.

Let’s leave Joseph with the final word of personal devotion and exultation:—

The joy of Jesus! can it be

   That this should be fulfilled in me?

 

The glory of God in five senses

        The five senses are usually listed as smelling, seeing, hearing, feeling and tasting. But what do they have to do with the glory of God? I was reading through 2^nd  Corinthians recently (2:14-16) when I came across this unusual thought—Paul and the Corinthians even “smelled” of Christ.—“they were the pleasing aroma of Christ.”  This thought takes us straight back to the sacrifice Noah and his family offered after the suffering and loss of the flood—“The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma.” (Gen.8:21)

        As far as seeing goes, think of the Mount of Transfiguration, where Jesus’ “clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:29)  John, who was there that day, says fifty years later simply, “we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son.” (John 1:14) Finally, think of Paul’s “blessed hope”—“the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

        Back on the Mount, as Peter was jabbering away, a voice came from heaven that said, “This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him.” I’ve tended to emphasize the last word of that last sentence: “Listen to him.” Today I discovered what may be the real emphasis: “Listen to him.” Another aspect of God’s glory may be perceived by hearing. And I’m inclined to believe that prayer is a two-way street. Imagine a prayer meeting  where everyone prays, then goes home. Have we listened to him? Scripture reading or Scripture-based messages seem essential at every prayer meeting, just to let God speak to US!

        The fourth sense is feeling or touch—now think of Jesus after the resurrection, as he appeared to the disciples. What did he say? “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39) Imagine literally touching the hand of God!

        Finally, tasting. Dare we say that we taste Him in the bread and the wine? Or is it a metaphorical sense of taste? “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8). This is an invitation to believer and unbeliever alike— try some of the good things Jesus has to offer!  

Hear God Out

        Probably no other words in the English language can raise your hackles (and mine) faster than the words, “You’re a sinner!” If our anger starts to smoulder and our blood starts to boil, we should calm down and hear God out.

        Dorothy L. Sayers wrote a whole book about the mind of the maker (small m’s) and some of the thoughts her work provoked are these: The potter expects the clay to obey him so, by his choice, he can make Denby or Royal Doulton; the painter expects the canvas and the paint to obey him—Picasso or Rembrandt; God is our Maker and has the right to our obedience. If we disobey (that is, “sin”), God has the right to scrap us and start over. But He tries to save everything He has made.

        The question then becomes, what is the cost to reverse or cancel or “justify” one sin? God’s gauge of the value is “the soul who sins is the one who will die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) The statement is absolute—whether it is one sin or a million. Only our eternal death or the death of Jesus meets that requirement.

            Ì

Is this the very first communion?

        Read Luke 24:13-35

        Of course there was communion between the disciples and the Saviour over bread and wine many times, perhaps daily, during the years of His ministry on earth. But the cross makes a greater break in history than His birth ever did.

 

       These verses make a wonderful story in themselves—imagine being in a seminar about the Messiah, taught by Christ Himself! And not just an academic discussion, but to realize that this is the God AND this is the Man who experienced all this—all these scriptures were about Himself.

        We can bring this story into our own day as a pattern for worship, or the “breaking of bread”, as we call it. First of all, we know that a church gathering can be as small as “two or three”, brought together by the Lord, and He will join them (Matt.18:20). Cleopas and his friend were joined by Jesus that Sunday morning on the road to Emmaus. They came with all their sadness, disappointment and defeat; they came without hope. Even the rumour of His resurrection didn’t cheer them. They even rebuked Him for not knowing how they felt.

        Then Jesus took control of the conversation: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” From these few verses we judge that there are at least three things that make valid content for communion with Jesus and for worship: 1) “All the Scriptures concerning Himself”, that is, the entire Old Testament, 2) all that these two disciples knew about His life, that is, all the gospels and by extension the entire New Testament, and 3) His resurrected Self, right there in front of them.

        After taking them through all these details, he pretended to be leaving but now “their hearts were burning within them”—they couldn’t let him go, whoever he was!

        At this high point of love for this stranger, the bread was broken and they knew Him—those hands that broke the bread still had the scars of Calvary! They recognized Him at last and were content when He left (as we should be at the end of our worship time), but their very next thought was to tell others that they had seen Him. If only we loved Him as much!

The Comforter has come

        Reading through the Bible, we see that one of the fears of Old Testament believers was that the Holy Spirit would leave them. For example, Samson, when he was ambushed, did not know that the LORD had left him. (Judges 16:20) And King David prayed, “Do not...take your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:11)

        How different in the New Testament. John the Baptist’s sign for identifying the Messiah was “the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain.” (John 1:33) Then, in the upper room, Jesus promised “he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16, 17) The Apostle Paul wrote, “you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:13) What a wonderful guarantee— the Spirit will never leave us now!

Pure Gold from the Believers Hymn Book

        Jim Currie gave out the last four verses of BHB #155 at the end of the Breaking of Bread worship on October 14, 2012. We were strongly moved by these lines, and the best explanation we have is in the words of A.W.Tozer:

        “I refer to the evangelical mystic who has been brought by the gospel into intimate fellowship with the Godhead. His theology is no less and no more than is taught in the Christian Scriptures. He walks the high road of truth where walked of old prophets and apostles, and where down the centuries walked martyrs, reformers, Puritans, evangelists and missionaires of the cross. He differs from the ordinary orthodox Christian only because he experiences his faith down in the depths of his sentient being while the other does not. He exists in a  world of spiritual reality. He is quietly, deeply and sometimes almost ecstatically aware of the Presence of God in his own nature and in the world around him. His religious experience is something elemental, as old as time and the creation. It is immediate acquaintance with God by union with the Eternal Son. It is to know that which passes knowledge.” [A.W.Tozer, The Christian Book of Mystical Verse]

        The original of this hymn was in German, by Paul Gerhardt, but it was translated into English and adapted by Frances Bevan about 1898. We feel that the translator was given almost equal grace from God to translate as was the original poet to write. Here is the complete hymn,  with a sampling of Scripture references added:

1. Midst the darkness, storm and sorrow,

   One bright gleam I see;
Well I know the blessèd morrow
   Christ will come for me^a.
‘Midst the light, and peace, and glory
   Of the Father’s home
Christ for me is waiting^b, watching,
   Waiting till I come.

2.  Long the blessèd Guide^a has led me

    By the desert road^b;
Now I see the golden towers^c,
    City^d of my God.
There, amidst the love and glory,
    He is waiting yet;
On His hand a name is graven^e
    He can ne’er forget.

3. There, amidst the songs of heaven^a,

    Sweeter to His ear
Is the footfall through the desert,
    Ever drawing near.
There, made ready are the mansions^b,
    Glorious, bright, and fair;
But the Bride^c the Father gave Him
    Still is wanting there.

4. Who is this who comes to meet me,

    On the desert way,
As the Morning Star^a foretelling
    God’s unclouded day^b?
He it is who came to win me
    On the Cross of shame^c;
In His glory well I know Him
    Evermore the same^d.

5. O the blessèd joy of meeting,

    All the desert past!
O the wondrous words of greeting^a
    He shall speak at last!
He and I together ent’ring
    Those bright courts above;
He and I together sharing^b
    All the Father’s love.

6. Where no shade nor stain can enter^a,

    Nor the gold be dim;
In that holiness unsullied^b
    I shall walk with Him.
Meet companion^c, then, for Jesus,
    From Him, for Him, made;
Glory of God’s grace^d for ever
    There in me displayed^e.

7. He, who in the hour of sorrow

    Bore the curse^a alone;
I, who through the lonely desert
    Trod where He had gone.
He and I in that bright glory
    One deep joy^b shall share;
Mine, to be for ever with Him,
    His, that I am there.

 Notes to each verse:   

1a: 1 Thess.4:16,17

1b: Gen.24:63-66; Heb.10:12

2a: John 16:13; Psa.48:14

2b: Isa.40:3; 43:19
2c: Rev.21:18
2d: Heb.12:22
2e: Isa.49:16

3a: Rev.5:9; 14:3

3b: John 14:2,3
3c: John 3:29; Rev.19:7, 22:17

4a: Rev.2:28, 22:16

4b: Isa.44:22
4c: Heb.12:2
4d: Heb.13:8

5a: Matt.25:21

5b: Eph.2:4-7

6a: James 1:17

6b: Rom.6:22; 1 Pet.1:15
6c: 1 John 3:2,3; 2 Cor.8:9
6d: Gal.2:20
6e: Heb.12:1

7a: Gal.3:13

7b: Heb.12:2; 1 Pet.1:8

    What a hope! What longing for intimate fellowship with Jesus! Heaven touches us here!