September 30, 2019 - Suggested Reading Joshua 15 for the October 6th message on Micah 1 &2 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“The allotment for the tribe of Judah, according to its clans, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert of Zin in the extreme south.”

Joshua 15:1 (NIV) 

The book of Joshua records that the people of God received their land from God’s hand through the casting of lots. This system of allowing God to determine what property they would own and live is the ultimate example of a surrendered life, and is foreign to most of us who live in Ontario in 2019.

Private property ownership is the bedrock of a free society and a quick study of the places where people are the freest in the world bears this truth out. To enable its citizens to own their own property, and live there without undue tax burdens or confiscation risk is a primary responsibility of the government of a free society. One of the identifying factors of a communist or totalitarian government is their quickness to confiscate properties and their large forced relocation projects. It would be pretty hard to find someone in power in Canada who would argue against the ownership of private property, for Canada so far is a relatively free society with a higher than normal ratio of land relative to population.

Joshua records that God gave tribes, families and individuals ownership rights over the promised land, and therefore set the basis for a free society in ancient Israel.

The problem that Micah chapter 2 is addressing is the taking away of those rights along with the property from the poor and/or weak by the rich and/or powerful through various schemes. (1 Kings 21 records one of those schemes)

This sin is grievous to God, for He will destroy the nation, and He will punish them in accordance to the crime - they take away land - therefore God will take away their land.

The lesson for us is to keep our hands off what belongs to someone else – and like every other sin it starts in our heart - so the lesson is don’t covet what God gave to someone else.

How can we not covet someone else’s land or job or wealth or spouse?

Psalm 16 contains the answer which is thankfulness - can we say verse 6 to God and mean it from
our heart? 

When that is the attitude of our heart and the words of our mouths, we will not covet and we will
not steal.    

September 27, 2019 - Suggested Reading Ephesians 4 for the September 29th message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form
of malice.”

Ephesians 4:31 (NIV) 

God asked Jonah twice; “is it right for you to be angry?”

Great question to ask our selves the next time angry grips us.

Many times, our first response to this question is – Wait a minute anger is not wrong- for the bible says in Ephesians 4:26 “in your anger do not sin.” So therefore, it is possible to be angry and yet not be in the wrong. The term for being right while being angry is ‘righteous anger’ or ‘righteous indignation’. 

It would be beneficial to us if we would read that verse in its context- that is - read the verses around that verse and allow them to lend meaning to the verse itself. As we do that it seems that the topic of the paragraph is a contrast between how we used to live and how we can now live in the Spirit. We can notice that what is being taught is a progression from our old habits to a new way of life. In that progression we start by trying not to sin while we are angry - perhaps we won’t swear at people anymore, or say hurtful things, we won’t throw things at people nor hit people nor break things. We won’t allow ourselves to harbour anger overnight, which gives the devil a foothold to wreak destruction in our loves. Initially it seems that verse 28 is misplaced for it separates the topic of sinning while angry, Paul addressing the ‘sin’ that comes from anger (hurtful words), and the destructive effect this sin has on our relationship to the Holy Spirit who enables us to live this new life. Yet if we accept that the verse order is God breathed, we realize that we needed a practical example of higher plane living, in order to encourage us that the harder to reach higher plane of living, where we get rid of anger, is attainable. YES – we can get rid of anger!

James 1:20 tells us that human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires, we who are convinced we are righteous in our anger are so right that we are wrong!

The passage in Ephesians 4 goes on to tell us to replace that angry behaviour with God-like behaviour - for as verse 28 taught us that sharing with others will displace stealing, so forgiving one another as in Christ God forgave us, will displace anger.

It seems clear to all who read Jonah 4 that Jonah’s anger is despicably wrong, and yet it was real to Jonah, and we are left wondering if he ever realized how sinful his anger was.

Do we realize how sinful our anger is?

Will we allow the Holy Spirit to ask us the question; “John is it right for you to be angry?” Will we surrender to the Spirit, tell Him that we don’t think this anger is right and ask Him to take us to that higher plane- that spiritual plain of getting rid of all bitterness, rage and anger by replacing them with forgiveness?

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining every day;

Still praying as I’m onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up and let me stand,

By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,

A higher plane than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

I want to live above the world,

Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground.

September 26, 2019 - Suggested Reading John 21 for the September 29th message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

““Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!””

John 21:18-19 (NIV) 

John 21 is one of my favourite passages in all of Scripture, for it records our Lord’s gracious dealings with his most vocal disciple. Not only does our Lord restore Peter by drawing out of Peter three declarations of Peter’s love for Jesus, while at the same time commissioning Peter to love and care for the Lord’s people. Our Lord also prepares Peter for his cruel death at the hands of the Romans.

We can readily see that Peter remembered that Jesus taught that our lives are to glorify God, just by comparing Matthew 5:16 to 1 Peter 2:12, and also by realizing that he spent his life glorifying his God by caring for the church of Christ. No doubt Peter remembered these Words of his Lord as the Romans prepared to crucify him, and no doubt these Words were part of Peter’s motivation to request an upside-down crucifixion – Peter wanted to glorify God in his death, just as his life brought glory
to God.

Someone else dressing us and leading us where we don’t want to go describes the experience of a Canadian senior entering a nursing home. We may think that this a poor comparison - for dying in a nursing home surrounded by those who care for us is not comparable to Peter’s death surrounded by those who were there to harm him. Yet if dying in a nursing home is the death God has chosen for us, may we desire to glorify God through that journey.

Jonah chapter 4 records that Jonah didn’t want to live any more - he wasn’t happy with God’s gracious treatment of his worst enemy.

Was he trying to manipulate God in destroying the city of Nineveh?

Or did he want to have his life ended because a prophet whose prophecy of destruction didn’t come true would reflect badly on the God he spoke for?

Either way Jonah still had life to live, and he didn’t take his death into his own hands, he left it
to God. 

May we glorify God in our life and our death.

September 25, 2019 - Suggested Reading Matthew 9 for the September 29th message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Matthew 9:36 (NIV) 

God is compassionate!

It is part of what makes Him glorious, for when He described Himself to Moses, he started with “the LORD, the LORD the compassionate and…”

Compassion is defined as a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. 

Pity by itself is not compassion, for compassion is always attached to action. We see this so clearly portrayed in the account of our Lord’s activities in Matthew's action-packed chapter 9. He forgives and heals the paralytic, then calls and eats with a sinner, raises a dead girl, heals a sick woman and then heals two blind men and a mute.

Our Lord Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and is full of compassion, He came down here from heaven because He is compassionate, He healed because He is compassionate, He forgives because He is compassionate and His compassion compels Him to ask the Father to send us out into the harvest field.

At the heart of true gospel ministry is compassion.

You care about the people you are ministering to, and you want to help them, you want to see them saved, live the life God has for them now and then enter eternal life.

None of us are as effective as Jonah was, we can only dream of a response like Jonah’s preaching garnered, and yet He had zero compassion, so we don’t need compassion to be effective ministers.

But we need compassion to glorify God.

And we need compassion to reveal God to those around us.

If we don’t have compassion for those we are ministering to, then why are we ministering, and is it true ministry or are we faking it?

If we don’t have compassion, then how do we get it?

The great news for each of us who are united with Christ is that the compassion of God resides in us, and as we surrender to the Spirit His compassion will fill our hearts.

Change my heart Oh God make it ever true.

Change my heart Oh God May I be like you.

September 24, 2019 - Suggested Reading 1 Kings 19 for the September 29th message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.””

1 Kings 19:4 (NIV) 

Scholars are not sure who wrote the book of Jonah- some of them can’t believe that Jonah wrote it himself, because of how bad the book presents Jonah.

Boy does Jonah look bad!

Whoever wrote it, very skillfully created a comparison in our minds between the prophet Jonah and the great prophet Elijah.

Elijah prayed for rain and had his servant watch the sky for sign of rain - fervent effectual prayer avails much!

Jonah prayed a fervent prayer from his heart and sat and watched the city to see if God would destroy it in accordance with Jonah’s desire.

Elijah ran for his life under threat of death, sat under a broom bush and asked the LORD to take his life. His request was based on what he felt was the ineffectiveness of his ministry.

Jonah had no threat of death, but sat under a shelter waiting to see a city destroyed, asking the LORD to take his life because his ministry had been too effective.

Little boy Jonah looks bad compared to the man called Elijah.

Yet both men were obviously in a state of despair - even depression.

Notice how graciously God dealt with both, for He graciously intervened in the little things in their situation, meeting some needs, and then drew them into a personal encounter with Him, for the purpose of encouraging them to continue in their ministry.

Not the wind, not the earthquake, nor the fire – but the still small voice of God spoke the Words that Elijah needed, and that same still small voice spoke the Words that Jonah needed.

A compassionate gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love!

Oh that He would meet with us today and speak the Words we need.

Are we listening for that still small voice?

September 23, 2019 - Suggested Reading Exodus 34 for the September 29th message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.”

Exodus 34:8 (NIV) 

May this be our response today as we reflect on God’s revelation of His glory.

I am grateful to Jonah for the Words in his lament to God recorded in Jonah 4:2 sent me to this passage. What a powerful revelation of the glory of our great God!

Jonah believed this revelation of God’s glory, but instead of this belief producing worship in Jonah’s heart - it produced anger.

Anger? How can we be angry at God acting in accordance with His character?

That is a big question and yet it is of secondary importance.

Of primary importance is that Jonah knew that the LORD is a gracious compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity, for to know this about God is a gift from God, it is the core of saving belief. This belief is not a matter of the mind only, like a simple agreement that something is factual, for only our actions cane reveal what we truly know/believe about God.

In the parable of the talents recorded in Matthew 19, one of the servants hid what God gave him in the ground because of what he believed about God’s character. His belief was real though what he believed was false and doomed him to destruction.

In Jonah’s case his belief was true, and his action of running from God’s command revealed what he believed/knew about how God would act towards the Ninevites when they repented.

What do we believe about God’s character?

Do we believe this revelation recorded in Exodus 34?

May God help us to believe this, to know Him as Jonah and Moses knew Him, and yet may God’s grace also lead us into the worship Moses exhibited instead of the rebellion Jonah exhibited.

September 21, 2019 - Suggested Reading 1 Corinthians 1 for the September 22nd message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,”

1 Corinthians 1:22-23 (NIV) 

The gospel message that Paul called the power of God in Romans 1, is encapsulated here in two Words - Christ crucified. These two words are all about a death sentence - the Roman death sentence that our Messiah/Christ willingly took on Himself in our place, for Christ died for our sins. The gospel is all about a death sentence, and this causes the Jews to stumble and the rest of us to laugh. 

There is nothing complicated about the gospel message for it is as simple as the message Jonah took across Nineveh. In Nineveh’s case there was widespread belief, whereas in Jesus’ day there were only a few Jews who believed, for not even the disciples thought their Messiah needed to die for them. In Paul’s day the Jews still didn’t believe that their Messiah needed to die and so refused to believe the message, and the Gentiles laughed at the idea of God’s Son who died, coming to life again. Ever had a relative laugh at you, or mock your faith, or your intelligence? Gentiles still think the gospel message is foolishness.

BUT – I love this but – to those who are called both Jews and Greeks – Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Paul was not discouraged by the resistance of the Jews nor by the ridicule of the Greeks, he persevered in preaching the gospel message because he knew its power.

Friend don’t be discouraged as you think about those around you would like to invite to the Celebration of Hope event this October, even though they have rejected and ridiculed the gospel in the past. Pray that God would call them, that He would work in their hearts and open their eyes bringing them to a place of belief. And then act in faith believing that you will receive what you asked for and invite them to the Celebration of Hope where they will hear the gospel once more.

September 20, 2019 - Suggested Reading Romans 1 for the September 22nd message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.””

Romans 1:16-17 (NIV) 

There is power in the good news about Jesus Christ our Lord.

How do you ‘plug into’ that power?

Faith- that is you believe the message.

You see it in Jonah 3 - they believed the message of Jonah and look what happened - real power!

It was ‘real’ belief, in the sense that out of the belief came action - as opposed to ‘false’ belief that changes nothing. When a person truly believes that destruction is coming from God’s hand - they do something - they seek God’s face and turn from their ways to God’s ways.

The power comes from God and not from us. We are to live by faith, and our faith - that is our belief in the good news about Christ - attaches us to God through His Spirit and His power brings us salvation.

It is His message.

It is His power.

It is His work.

We believe, we seek God’s face and we turn from our ways to His ways.

There is no other way to be saved – then by believing the good news of Christ Jesus.

Do we believe this?

Then why do we not share the good news of Christ Jesus to all we meet?

Why are we ashamed of the message that saved us?

September 19, 2019 - Suggested Reading Acts 3 for the September 22nd message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.”

Acts 3:19-20 (NIV) 

Thank God for the apostles- for the record of their ministries and sermons in Acts and for their epistles that built upon the foundation of our Lord’s teaching and ministry.

The Holy Spirit moved powerfully in these men who had walked with Jesus for three years and guided them into all truth just as the Lord prophesied in John 16:13.

Peter tells the Jewish people that they and their leaders acted in ignorance when they killed the author of life, and that God fulfilled what he foretold through their actions. Peter then calls them to a different action in verse 19, not rejection and a turning away but repentance and turning towards.

Notice that repentance is required, and that a turning to God is required before times of refreshing will come.

We need refreshing, don’t we?

We have a wonderful example of refreshing in this chapter as it records the lame man being healed through Jesus’ name and Peter’s faith. It is a special moment in his life, but his life isn’t over, there is likely a lot of life left to live for this fellow who has no trade except begging. No doubt he will face many hardships throughout the rest of his life and yet he will always be able to remember the day the Lord refreshed him.

Peter contrasts times of refreshing with the restoration of all things in this sermon. He tells that Jews that they must wait for everything to be made right, they must wait for the prophecies of old to be fulfilled in every way, and yet they can receive times of refreshing right now.

Action is required – Repent and turn to God.

Friend do you need refreshing from God?

What stops us from repenting and turning to Him?

Whatever is stopping us – it's not good – turn from it and turn to God.

September 18, 2019 - Suggested Reading Luke 11 for the September 22nd message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

Luke 11:30 (NIV) 

How was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites?

Luke puts a different emphasis on what our Lord says about Jonah then Matthew does - for it is clear in Matthew 12:40 that our Lord is comparing His burial and resurrection to Jonah being in the belly of a great fish, whereas in Luke there is no mention of His death and resurrection - just mention of the sign of Jonah.

Nineveh is a long way from the coast which means the people of Nineveh would not have seen the fish barf Jonah up on the shore - nor would they likely believe a fish story like Jonah's - so what was it about Jonah that made the people of Nineveh believe him? What was his sign?

I have heard some say that Jonah’s skin was stained from being in the belly of the fish - in other words his physical appearance proved his fish story, which gave credibility to his proclamation that Nineveh would be destroyed.

First of all how do you prove that he was stained? Especially when the bible makes no mention of it.

Secondly, we have no record that Jonah mentioned the fish to the people of Nineveh - actually from the terse language in Jonah 3, you get the sense that Jonah’s message was brief and from his reaction recorded in Jonah 4 you get the sense that he would not have bothered telling them anything that would have assisted them in believing his proclamation of impending destruction.

How then was Jonah a sign to the Ninevites?

According to the Scriptures he appeared and proclaimed a message of impending destruction. 

Could the sign be the fact that he showed up and preached the message of impending destruction?

It seems that Luke is emphasizing this perspective on Jonah being a sign, for verse 32 states “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.” In other words all it took for the people of Nineveh to repent was belief in the message of Jonah, and yet you won’t repent even though something greater than Jonah is preaching to you. Not someone but something - not just a message from a prophet but a promise of life from the One who will pay your price.

What we forget today, is that the proclamation of the gospel begins with the proclamation of the sentence of death. We remember that the message of impending destruction was proclaimed by the John the Baptist, but we forget that our Lord proclaimed that message as well- consider John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” or John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

They didn’t need a sign to be saved - they needed to believe the message of impending destruction in order to receive salvation.

Those around us won’t get any sign other than us bringing the gospel message to them - but will our message include the proclamation of impending destruction. 

In today’s Christian world it seems that we don’t believe in 'scaring people into salvation' - and so we part company with the prophets and with our Lord and with our apostles.

September 17, 2019 - Suggested Reading Ezekiel 18 for the September 22nd message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!”

Ezekiel 18:32 (NIV) 

Jonah knew this truth about God! He even believed it about a city of the enemies of God’s people who were outside of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Do we know this truth?

The Word “anyone” means anyone – which means every human life is sacred to God.

2 Peter 3:9 says the same thing; “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come
to repentance.”

God’s pleasure is in life not in death, He is the author of life- it is the enemy who rejoices in death.

I wonder if we believe that God wants each of the 7.53 billion people of the earth to live. Depending on what system of theology we were brought up in and ascribe our loyalty to – we can have a real problem with my interpretation of these verses. We could say wait a minute John, the 1646 Westminster Confession in Chapter 3 paragraph 3  teaches us; “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others foreordained to everlasting death.” So there is no way that God desires all humans to live.

First of all we should always be careful to allow the text to rule over our system, this takes discipline and effort - second of all I am a baptist and our London Baptist Confession of 1689 in Chapter 3 paragraph 3 teaches us; “By the decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated, or foreordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace; others being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of his glorious justice.” Asking you what we believe is not a trap but an invitation to make sure we believe something based on our understanding of God’s Word and not simply following what we were taught about God’s Word - it is part of seeking God’s face to read passages that speak about His desires and pleasures and to ask the Spirit to reveal God.

Many make the mistake of thinking that because every human life is sacred to God that He will not kill humans. This is the great lie of the devil that he whispered to Eve, and has been whispering it ever since - “You will not certainly die.” Ezekiel 18 makes it clear that God will kill the wicked, by comparing 3 generations - a grandfather, a son and a grandson. Our family name will not condemn us nor will it save us, rather what will condemn us is our refusal to repent from our wicked ways, and what will save us is our repentance.

How we live our life in the here and now affects our eternal destination- repent and live!

September 16, 2019 - Suggested Reading Psalm 18 for the September 22nd message on Jonah in our worship service at 10:00AM

“I love you, LORD, my strength.”

Psalm 18:1 (NIV) 

This psalm teaches us that David loves God because God first loved him. God is his strength because God was his strength.

As we read this psalm, we marvel at the descriptions of God coming from His temple to help a human on earth, and we wonder how many times did this happen in David’s life? When we cast our minds over the written history of David in the Scriptures we can immediately think of several times where David would have been killed if God didn’t come from His temple to intercede.

I wonder how many times in your life friend - would you have perished if the Lord had not heard your prayer and moved heaven and earth to save you?

What drew me to Psalm 18 was the similarity between verses 4 and 5 in this psalm; “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.” and verses 2,5 and 6 of Jonah 2; “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit.”

No doubt Jonah had read Psalm 18 many times, and as he remembered God while his life was ebbing away, he offered the Words of Scripture from his heart to His Lord.

Powerful way to pray!

Verse 20 through 24 of Psalm 18 bring fear to my heart, for if the LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness, He would never deliver me. But then I cast my mind to Christ and realize that God answers my call for salvation based on who His Son is, for I am joined by faith to His Son. Not only that, but the forgiveness offered to me by His Son, cleans my hands, takes away my guilt, and makes me blameless.

Oh, how good it is to think on my position in Christ and to continually seek forgiveness from my sin in His Name!