November 30, 2019 - Suggested Reading Philippians 1 for the December 1st message on Micah 7 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”

Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV) 

God’s people are called to live lives of love.

Micah knows that his people are not prepared for God to visit them, for their unloving lives will bring about God’s punishment on them, and the words of the prophets (watchmen) will come true. This knowledge causes Micah misery as he realizes the truth of the situation, and all he can do is decide for himself to hope in God and wait for God to move in answer to the prayer of his heart.

Paul wants his people in Philippi to be prepared for the Lord’s return, so he prays that they will love with an abundance of knowledge and insight, so that they can discern what is best and be blameless and pure on the day the Lord comes back.

I think this is a timely prayer for us to consider at Parkdale today.

There is much talk these days about love in our Christian community, with some accusing us of lacking love because of positions we might take on certain types of behaviour carried on by people identifying themselves as Christian. Notice that according to this prayer in Philippians, love is not to be a blind love, but a knowledgeable love, a love that has insight and discernment, and a love that leads to purity and blamelessness. Paul’s goal is for us to be filled with the fruit of righteousness, the very metaphor that Micah can’t find in his people. The metaphor of fruit is used throughout Scripture- simply put- you reap what you sow.

The fruit of righteousness is behaviour that is exhibited by people who are in right standing with God, these behaviours flow from our right relationship with God - right relationship 1st, behaviours 2nd. We know how a Christian sows righteousness by that verse in 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Yes, we are righteous through faith in Christ Jesus - His righteousness becomes our righteousness, at the point of conversion - Praise God!! Yet we allow unrighteousness to crash the party by refusing to confess our sins. To confess sin is to admit that a behaviour is sin. Those who say to us that Christian love means we recognize people as righteous who refuse to admit their behaviour is sin – are rejecting the prayer of Paul for a life of love for the Philippians. It is impossible to be filled with the fruit of righteousness without righteousness in our lives. If there is no fruit of righteousness in our lives, then we are in the same state that people of Micah’s day were in- we are not ready for the Lord to appear in power.

November 29, 2019 - Suggested Reading Luke 12 for the December 1st message on Micah 7 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Luke 12:53 (NIV) 

What do you think?

Do you think our Lord is using the words of Micah 7:6 as he tells His disciples what to expect in this world as they make Him their priority?

Could it be that our Lord is quoting Micah 7:6 as He instructs His disciples on what family life will look like for a true worshipper of God during the “church age” – or the “day of grace” – or the “age of the Spirit” – that is the time between the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost and the triumphal return of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Whether your answer is “yes” or “no”, the similarities between Luke 12:53 and Micah 7:6 must cause us to wonder if the prophet Micah was given a glimpse into the church age by the Holy Spirit.

Could it be that verses 1 thru 7 describe Canada in 2019?

It sure seems like the faithful are disappearing from our land - the latest statistics show that evangelicals are shrinking as a percentage of the general population.

It also seems as if we are in a trend where children of Christians are leaving the faith at a greater rate than previous generations.

Our Lord told us that His presence as Lord in our lives would bring division into our families.  

May we be the ones who watch in hope for the LORD and wait for God our Saviour!

November 27, 2019 - Suggested Reading Isaiah 57 for the December 1st message on Micah 7 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.”

Isaiah 57:1 (NIV)

Micah is in misery in chapter 7 because the faithful have been swept from the land - it is worth the time reflecting on whether Micah speaks on God's behalf here- could God be in misery? is being grieved the same as being in misery? - or is the prophet speaking of his own heart as he sees the faithful dying off?

It can be a terrible thing when the one who is faithful to God is removed from a family. We have all seen it - the family might all come to church and no one seems more spiritual than the other, but after a death the family drifts away and you realize that the one who died was the faithful one.

It happens in a community as well, there is one who is shining like a light, and who is the salt of the earth, God sweeps them out of a community through death and the community flounders.

What we see in Micah 7 is the regular way God deals with a community, for He removed Lot and his family from Sodom, He removed Noah and his family from the flood, and He removed Joseph and his family from the famine in Canaan, while Jeremiah 24 tells us that the exile to Babylon was God’s way of protecting the “good figs” while destroying the idolatrous community. It sure seems that Matthew 24, I Thessalonians 5 and Revelation 11 speak of God removing the righteous at the end of this age, before dealing with the final judgment of all the wicked and the renewing of the heavens and the earth.

Although we can acknowledge a general sense of how God operates in judgment, we still experience misery over the faithful being swept away. Part of that misery is the scorn we feel from the world around us typified by the popular song by Billy Joel called “The good die young”, as he tempts a young Catholic girl into sin by pointing out that sinners have more fun.

The first verse of Isaiah 57 is so helpful for those of us who find ourselves in this type of misery, for it raises a point which is never raised by those in the world. The righteous are taken away for their good, to spare them from evil. We focus on our loss and on our community’s loss- God asks us to focus on their gain, and on the truth that when the righteous start to disappear you can be sure that the evil days of judgment are coming, for He will spare the righteous the punishment of the wicked.

November 26, 2019 - Suggested Reading Job 19 for the December 1st message on Micah 7 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”

Job 19:25-27 (NIV) 

As we get ready to examine Micah’s great declaration of hope in the LORD in the midst of misery and family division prophesied in Micah 7:7, it will be good for us to consider for a moment- the oldest recorded emphatic declaration of hope in the LORD issued by a true worshipper in
abject misery.

Job’s statement in chapter 19 of what he knows, is an amazing declaration of the hope we have in Christ Jesus. We might wonder how someone could hope in Christ Jesus before our Lord was even born, and that wonder should lead us to worship a God above time, who only had 1 plan to save His people, and revealed that plan to prophets and worshippers in small glimpses thousands of years before our Lord was born in Bethlehem.

Job knows – his redeemer lives - to know that someone has paid the price for your sin and that your redeemer is alive – now that is hope!

Job knows – at the end he will stand on the earth – to know that there is an end to life as all humans to date have experienced it, and that when that end comes our Redeemer will stand on the earth (notice the word earth, not a cloud or heaven, but the earth) – now that is hope!

Job knows - after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God – that his body will be destroyed by death, and yet he knows that he will see God within his body, with his own eyes - the glorious truth of resurrection- now that is hope!

Job knows - I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another – to believe the doctrine of the resurrection is encouraging and brings hope BUT to know personally, that you will be welcomed by God, that you will be able to gaze upon His beauty and holiness is to have a wonderful assurance of your own salvation and standing with God - now that is hope!

Job knows - How my heart yearns within me! –We can fool others about our inner desires- but I hope we work hard at identifying what our heart longs for. Our final destination will be wherever our desires rest.

Do I long for the day I gaze on my Redeemer Christ Jesus?

Do I long for that day when the world as we know it will come to an end?

Do I long for the day when I will have a heavenly body instead of the earthly one I have now?

– now that is hope!

November 25, 2019 – Meditations on Micah 6:8

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

As we leave our time in Micah 6 in our AM service, I have been reflecting on the importance of the message of Micah 6:8 to everyone who calls themselves Christian.

That the Jewish people knew these requirements should be apparent to any reader of the Bible, especially in light of our Lord’s answer to the question about the greatest commandments - to love God with all that you are, and to love your neighbour as yourself - which is obviously a parallel of Micah 6:8. They knew that sacrifices were secondary and that receiving mercy from God and extending mercy to one another was primary, yet they persisted in their folly of going through the motions of observing corporate worship without any sign of worship in their everyday lives.

This behaviour of engaging in corporate worship without holiness in a person’s life is deadly. It not only destroys us, as we can see clearly in Micah it destroys our families, our churches and
our communities.

The Word our Lord used to describe this type of behaviour is hypocrite – for instance in Matthew 23:23 He says; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Clearly our Lord is telling us to observe corporate worship AND live a life of worship, but hypocrite is a nasty word that can throw Christians into a spiral of self destruction- and some feel like they have to stop involving themselves in corporate worship in order to not be a hypocrite.

Now there is a trap of the devil’s making! The only way that I can ever live the life of worship that I have been called to live is through genuine worship, how in the world am I going to worship God genuinely apart from attending corporate assemblies that gather in His Name?

We forget that it is only people who don’t believe in anything who can confidently claim not be a hypocrite – are we willing to drop our belief in God? I would say that being apostate is worse than being a hypocrite. At least a hypocrite can humble themselves and seek God’s grace to enable them to live the life God has planned for them.

As our Lord said - we should practice the latter without neglecting the former, and praise God –
He will give us the grace to do both!

Let us seek His face and His ways today, and before we know it the tag of hypocrite will slide off us into the dustbin of history.

November 6, 2019 - Suggested Reading 2 Samuel 24 for the November 10th message on Micah 5 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.””

2 Samuel 24:17 (NIV) 

What was the shepherd’s sin?

Where is the sin in taking a census of the fighting men?

It seems clear that taking the census was the sin – but I don’t remember seeing “Do not count your fighting men.” listed in the 10 commandments.

Consider Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” and Isaiah 31:1 “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.” and Micah 5:10,11 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. I will destroy the cities of your land and tear down all your strongholds.”

Self reliance - which is linked to pride – is trusting in human strength instead of the Lord’s strength and is a dreadful sin against God. God delivers us from this state of pride by stripping away all those things we rely on. He brings us into a place where we trust in Him and Him alone, the place that David was in on that threshing floor all those years ago, the same place that Paul was in as he pleaded for God to take away the thorn in his flesh, and received an answer that God’s power is made perfect in weakness. He brings us to this place of pure trust by stripping away those things we rely on.

As we consider this passage which describes the sheep suffering for the sin of the shepherd let us turn our minds towards the Great Shepherd who suffered for the sin of the sheep, and let us trust Him and only Him to equip us with what we need to do His will. Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen

November 5, 2019 - Suggested Reading Numbers 27 for the November 10th message on Micah 5 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

Numbers 27:21 (NIV)

I love Moses’ response to the LORD telling him that he would die outside of the promised land!

No whining or whinging for Moses - he had his eyes on God (who gives breath to all living things) and his eyes on God’s people (so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd) - so he asks God to appoint a leader over God’s people.

It is amazing how a focus on God and His people keeps us from whining - may God keep our eyes on Him and on His people.

For us as we prepare to experience the message of Micah 5, I picked Numbers 27 to expose us to one of the biblical definitions of a shepherd. Psalm 23 gives us a wonderful picture of the pastoral role of a shepherd, and Numbers 27 gives us a governmental picture of a shepherd.

In Numbers 27, in answer to Moses’ concern about God’s people not having a shepherd - God directs Moses to ensure that Joshua receives the spirit of leadership from Moses in a public ceremony so that the people will obey him, and that Joshua is to be the one who goes before the priests to seek direction from God, so that He would know what to command the people.

Joshua's shepherd role  for Israel is one of direction and government

My Baptist understanding of the role of pastor is formed primarily through the instructions given to Peter to feed God’s sheep and care for them. I don’t believe a pastor in a local church has any authority apart from the Word of God, and that there is no place for a pastor to direct a person in their life decisions. Though I have pastoral brothers who try to 'enlighten' me into taking on the mantle of authority over God's people.

It is Jesus who was given this mantle of authority - it was given to Him publicly at the Jordan in His baptism, again at the cross in His death and again in His tomb at His resurrection and again in a public heavenly ceremony at His ascension. Being an undershepherd in a local church does not place this mantle of authority over people's lives on my shoulders.

It is the Lord Jesus who is the One we are to obey, and it is the Lord Jesus who gives us the commands to go in and to go out.

You can put a man in our Lord’s place if you want - millions do it.

Why would you?

Why would you settle for a human giving you direction when the Lord Jesus Himself stands and shepherds you?

Seek His face. Seek His direction.

November 4, 2019 - Suggested Reading Matthew 2 for the November 10th message on Micah 5 in our worship service at 10:00AM

“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.”

Matthew 2:4 (NIV) 

We should have no doubt regarding the identity of the ruler and the remnant, as we read Micah 5 because the answer given to King Herod was Bethlehem in Judea, for the chief priests and teachers of the law knew that the prophet Micah wrote in 5:2 thru 4 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Therefore, Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labour bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of
the earth."

The ruler that Micah sees and describes is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, which means the remnant must be all of us who have placed our faith in Him as our Lord and Saviour. The use of Micah 5 by the chief priests should change the way we read and understand Micah 5.

How crazy was Herod’s response to the wonderful news from the wise men and the prophecy of God’s Messiah being born in Bethlehem.

The pride of a human - I will destroy God’s ancient plans – I will raise my fist to the God who rules the stars- I will kill this one sent from God.

In some ways Herod had more belief than the vast numbers of people today who yawn and laugh at the story of the King of kings being born in Bethlehem – he killed those babies in Bethlehem because he believed the Word of God. Far better to have believed and humbled himself before the King, as the wise men did.

What will we do this day? 

Raise our fist to God or bend our knee?