Quote for Tuesday 07 May 2024   ^#149

Readings from Matthew 26:36-50 and 27:33-53

Date is unknown. The cassette says Bible Tape Ministry, Glenwood, RR No. 1, Yarmouth Co., NS B0W 1W0

A stark contrast between sin and the divine excellence of God. First we see the psalmist's concern about perverseness against God and his people. Then there is a seeking of relief in looking to Heaven, and finally consolation in prayer.

Priority in prayer, passion in prayer, perseverance in prayer. Priorities are set by our Lord through whom our prayers are heard. The honour of God is utmost in prayer. We must persevere.

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First we will look at the works of the flesh, then move from the polluting factory into the luscious orchard. We will follow a grouping of the sins that some others have proposed: sexual sins, religious sins, and social sins. The sexual sins we covered last time, so we begin today with the religious sins of idolatry and witchcraft.

When we think of the flesh we tend not to think of religious sins, but it was religious flesh that crucified Christ. Religious flesh launched the Crusades, the inquisition, the growth of Islam, we can see religious flesh on display in many places.

Witchcraft: pharmakeia in Greek, from which we get words like pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. A secret tampering with and a worship of the powers of evil, aided through drugs. Drugs get you into connection with the spirit world. Drugs somehow provide a portal to the demonic world.

Finally we look at the social sins of drunkenness and revellings,

The assembly in Corinth was made up of people who were once practising all of these sins. Imagine what the testimony meeting would have been like, describing what their lives were like and how they got saved. Jesus cleansed, justified, set them apart. It's what they used to be; they are not any longer.

Yet the flesh does not get eradicated at conversion, so we must depend on the in-dwelling Spirit. So now we look at what the Spirit of God offers to us.

The introductory readings are from I Kings 15 and Luke 1. Today we look at Ahijam (also known as Abijah). With him we have somewhat of a contradiction because he confronted Jeroboam in a marvellous way, preaching to them, and yet he allows that which is evil, walking in all the sins of his father. This sort of contradiction lasts to this day: people will give some respect to the things of God, and yet live entirely ungodly lives.

Scripture tells us there is a fearful judgment to come. Consider the power of the voice of Christ, which raises the dead. Jesus himself faced the terror of the Lord. We must tell of it.

What is most missing in the true Church of Christ today? It is in this text: "the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle". Pray that our meetings might be filled with the glory of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

It's a wonderful thing to have freedom, and sad to give it up. In the spiritual realm there are always people wanting to bring us into bondage, the same as in the secular world.

The opposite of legalism is not licence, it is genuine liberty. This liberty is the Spirit-given desire and ability to do what we should do before God.

This is what fulfils the law: a life of love, made possible within the Christian community by the Spirit. In it the law finds fulfilment.

The law does not curb the flesh, it brings it out. The solution to the flesh is the Spirit.

The reception of the Spirit is at conversion. The presence of the Spirit is no guarantee that we are going to guarantee victory. It's not his presence that gives us victory, but when he is president. That is when we enjoy this victory.

A meditation on lessons learnt from Paul's writing to Timothy near the end of his life. The text tells us about Paul's imminent execution in the details Paul shares with Timothy. In the face of such a trial as would melt the hearts of most, Paul instructs Timothy to stand firmly for the gospel of Jesus Christ, as he himself had done.