Living Word April 2013

Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. Rom. 6:4 Issue 20 April 2013

Living Word Magazine

Going Deeper into God’s Word

F r e e B i b l e St u d i e s f r o m R e i n h a r d B o n n ke , D a n i e l K o l e n d a , W e s l e y C h i c k , E d wi n H a r ve y , D e r e k W i l l i a m s , Ma t h e w B a r t l e t t & m o r e !

Bible Studies Online International

www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk NOW IF WE BE DEAD WITH CHRIST, WE BELIEVE WE SHALL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM: (ROM 6:8) ©Photos above Marafilm CoverDanilo Ascione photo Back cover Peter Saharov

In this month’s issue: 2.

Victorious Living

3.

Pulling Down the Edifice

4.

Indescribable Worth

5.

Does God Have a Plan for My Life (3)? Daniel Kolenda (CfaN)

7.

Prophet of the Broken Heart (4)

10.

Why do the Righteous Suffer?

13.

The Book of Esther (8)

15.

Psalm 40 – Praise & Prayer

Mathew Bartlett (UK)

19.

In Depth Study – 1 Corinthians 3 (1)

Mathew Bartlett (UK)

Reinhard Bonnke (CfaN) Edwin & Lillian Harvey (USA) Ken Legg (Australia)

Mathew Bartlett (UK) Wesley Chick (UK) Derek Williams (UK)

©Photos above © Photoquest. Cover: © Draguta Left © from top: Filip Emmanuel, Macromega, Godfer, Sebastian Grecu, and David Asch. Back Cover: Michael Rhea

1

IN THIS ISSUE

Victorious Living by Reinhard Bonnke A Parable Let’s call him John. John had a two-storey house, with five rooms on the ground floor and five upstairs.

One day he heard someone knocking gently on the front door. When John opened it, it was the Lord Jesus.

“Please come in,” John said, thrilled at the unexpected visit. “I’ll give you the best room in the house – it’s upstairs.”

Well, Jesus is a gentleman, said “thank you” and gladly accepted the invitation.

The next morning someone hammered hard on the front door. When John opened it, who was there? The devil.

“No!” shouted John, “I don’t want you here.” But the devil grinned, “I’m already in” – and pushed John aside. A huge fight started. Satan poured filthy temptations on John, negative, sinful thoughts; it was horrible. By the evening had John somehow gained the upper hand; he threw the devil out and closed the door. Still trying to catch his breath, he said to himself, “Just a minute. I gave Jesus the best room in the house. Why didn’t he come and help me?”

John took his question to Jesus, who said, “Look, you gave me just one of your ten rooms.” John saw the problem, fell to his knees and said, “Lord Jesus, I can see my mistake.

Please forgive me. Let’s make it 50/50.” Jesus politely accepted his offer.

The next day was a repeat of the day before. Somehow the devil got in and the fight was on again. By the evening John was totally exhausted and again wondered, “Why didn’t Jesus come and help me today? I’ll have to go and ask him.”

The Lord said, “My child, why don’t you give me your whole house and then, instead of me staying with you as your guest, why don’t you stay with me?” John broke down. He pulled the key of the front door from his pocket and handed it to Jesus. Please be Lord over my entire life,” he said. Now he had given Jesus everything.

The next morning, while it was still dark, someone knocked at the front door so hard that the whole building shook. John jumped out of bed shaking with fright. “Oh no, it’s the devil again”, he whimpered. Then suddenly he heard footsteps in the house. It was Jesus, striding in majesty and power towards the front door. He was holding the key. Now it was his duty to answer the door to callers.

John wondered what would happen and ran to the door. He was standing right behind Jesus when the Lord opened the door wide. Who was it?

The devil, of course. Yet when the devil saw Jesus standing at the door, he bowed low, very low indeed, and said, “Sorry, Sir. I must have knocked on the wrong door!” And ran off as fast as he could.

Have you made Jesus Lord over every part of your life?

Or is he only Lord over some of the rooms in your house? Some people have given Jesus nine rooms in the houses of their life but there is a sign on the door to room number 10 which says “Private – No entry”. That room contains hidden sins, lies, deception, unclean things that they know Jesus does not like. In that room, they live a double life. Those are the very things that give the devil the right to keep 2

knocking at our front door and forcing his way in.

Jesus cannot be deceived. He knows everything about us. He knows what is happening in every room in our life – even in those places that we studiously try keep from him.

Give him the entire house of your life.

Everything. Every part of it. He wants to remove all the dirt, clean it up, make it tidy, put it to rights and, in a way, open all the windows to let light and fresh air in.

He wants every part of your life to be somewhere where he can stay and feel at ease.

Invite him wholeheartedly to be Lord over every single part of your life. In your own words, say something like this: “Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I give you every room, every nook and cranny in the house of my life.

I willingly give you, as my Lord and Saviour, EVERTHING! You know all about my sins, my situation and my addictions.

I place my trust fully in you, the Son of the living God. Cleanse me and make my life a place where you feel at ease and which honours you.

I open myself up to your Holy Spirit and want to follow you all the days of my life.

I trust you and your good guidance.

Please be Lord over my life!”

That is what I recommend if you want to live a life of victory! But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Pulling Down the Edifice An extract from “Royal Insignia” by Edwin & Lillian Harvey

OUT NOW ON KINDLE! Price $4.22 (FREE to Amazon Prime Members!)

Reproduced by kind permission of Harvey Publishers. www.harveycp.com

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down . . . every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:4,5).

It is astonishing how the same truth can become the property of Christians living over a century apart. The very truth which Madam Guyon, a French Roman Catholic, brought to our attention in the previous reading, was revealed to George Bowen, an American Presbyterian, many years later. Surely the same Holy Spirit was their common Teacher.

We quote from Bowen’s book, Love Revealed: “Alas for those who are rearing up on high, storey above storey, a towering monument, intending, when it is done, to put the living Stone somewhere at the top, and so get the whole transported to Heaven! No, it must all come down, every stone of it; and it is to be feared that there will not be time for you to get it down and a new foundation laid before the great earthquake flies rumbling through the earth, for the cement that you are using hardens rapidly, and the stones cling together as though they naturally belong together; and you are bestowing so much ornament and there are so many admirers that you are every day more and more fascinated with your own work. Day by day you become more and more intensely your own ideal; and the demolition of a structure so laboriously reared, so expensively,

seems to your conception like the crash of an expiring world.

“Then the schools of the world, so far from fitting their pupils for the school of Christ, make it less and less possible that those pupils should ever be brought to Christ. And here we discover a very important cause of the misunderstanding between the scholars of Christ and other scholars.”

In another portion of his book, the author asks why it is that Christians should be hated by the world, when they are loving in disposition and always desirous of their fellowman’s redemption. He then proceeds to answer his own question: “Consider this: the mission of Christians is to take from men something that is unutterably dear to them, to reduce them to a condition that seems to them worse than slavery, to carry them away into perpetual exile, to foil them in every enterprise that they have at heart, in fact—we may as well say it—to kill them. Do you start back in horror?

Hear me to the end.

“There is not anything so dear to the man of this world as the idea of his own unblamableness. Every day of his life he has been engaged in rearing, in his inner thought-world, a lofty edifice—a tower of Babel—to answer at once the purpose of a monument in his own praise, and to enable him, when the time shall come, to step from its pinnacle into Heaven. Every day he has been busy carving to some answerable shape the stones of his daily experience. He has diligently, all 3

(c) Olga Naidenova

his life long, done battle with the insolent voices of a miscreant conscience, establishing by successive victories the difficult fact that he is, take him for all in all, one whom God must look down upon with benignity, if not with admiration.

“You come to him in the name of Christ for the very purpose of depriving him of this idea of his own goodness. Your aim is to do what that tormenting conscience of his, with all its advantages of time and place, failed to do. Do you think that he has fought with the Goliath of his own conscience so many times, and so successfully, to be now discomfited by you? Will he allow you to be victorious over him and take from him the idea of his own integrity in the sight of God, after he has gone through a thousand fights to obtain that pearl of price?

“You tell him that he is a mere rebel against the most high God, that he has never been anything else, that all his righteousness’s are contemptible in the sight of Heaven, that he deserves the wrath of God, and you ask him to take this same view of himself.

You ask him to adjudge himself to be worthy of everlasting punishment. How easy was it for him in comparison to surrender all his worldly substance!

Self- esteem permeates his whole nature like the fibres of a cancer, and to bid him part with it is like bidding him surrender life.”

disobedience, rebellion and defiance, our sin has brought death, disease and destruction to us and to our world.

(c) Penywise

Indescribable Worth by Ken Legg Who can calculate the value of a human being? There is much emphasis today on self-esteem. Countless numbers of books have been written on the subject, and there are a multitude of courses and seminars designed to boost a person’s sense of self-worth.

These courses and sources come up with a number of ways to help people feel better about themselves, such as goal-setting, making positive affirmations, changing one’s appearance, blocking negative and critical influences, etc.

But for Christians the question of our worth is determined by something far more powerful than self-talk, achievements or dressing ourselves up to look and feel better. God has made two irrefutable statements about us.

First, He gifted us the highest place in the universe when He created us in His own image. As the apex of God’s creation we were made in such a way that we could be indwelt by God Himself and reflect His own moral image. Then, to top it all, He handed us dominion over everything on planet earth.

We know that mankind has responded to that amazing love in the most shameful way. Breaking with God in

But, incredibly, God’s love towards us was not diminished by this. It is at this point, in fact, that He has made His second loud statement regarding His esteem for us – redemption.

One of the things which determine the value of an object is the price that is paid for it. God paid the highest price imaginable for us, giving His very best that we might be redeemed from our sin and be reconciled to Him. What amazing love!

Once, when I was preaching in Zambia, I held up a 50,000 kwacha note. This is equivalent to around ten Australian dollars, which is a lot of money for the average Zambian. I asked, “Who would like this?” Every hand was immediately raised. I then wiped it on the floor and asked, “Who would like it now?”

Without hesitation every hand went up. I then screwed it up as tightly as I could in my hand and repeated the question, “Now who wants it?” Again, everyone did. Finally, I threw it on the ground and trampled it under my foot.

I held the sorry looking specimen in my hand and asked one more time, “Who wants it now?” Every hand was up.

I explained that the reason everyone wanted it is that even though it had been wiped in the dirt, screwed up and trampled on, yet none of these things devalued it whatsoever. I might have had a brand new, crisp banknote of the same amount, but I would not be able to purchase any more groceries from the supermarket with that, than I could with my filthy, battered note.

4

Dear friend, you may feel dirty, crumpled and downtrodden, due to what life has done to you, or even because of some of the decisions you have made yourself. But whatever has happened to you in life is not, in any way, a true indication of your worth.

The question regarding your real value was settled on a hill called Calvary, two thousand years ago. There, your Creator became your Saviour, and paid a price that no one else could possibly have paid for you. Peter said, “…you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet.1:18-19).

That’s your value. You can show to the world that you know your true worth by allowing God’s glory to shine through you. Paul says, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor.6:20).

(This article is an excerpt from Ken's new book Grace Roots)

Order your copy online PDF AUS $9 Print AUS $19 ($22 outside Australia)

Does God Really Have a Plan for My Life?

A Bible Study by Daniel Kolenda (CfaN) Photo: © Sebastian Grecu Part 3: Obvious Evidence of Purpose In thousands of classrooms all over the world teachers are indoctrinating naïve and impressionable students with the notion that they are an accident, the result of millions of years of random anomalies and lucky deformities, or that what they do with their lives is just a matter of preference and there is no divine designer who created them. But the Bible tells us that God designed us with a purpose in mind. Psalm 139:14 says we have been “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

It is only in recent years, with advances in science, that we are beginning to understand just how true those words are. Your body is a mind-blowing feat of engineering — an unbelievably complex design.

Did you know that your body employs the aid of more than two hundred muscles just to take a single step?

Consider the human eye, the design of which is so elegant and complex scientists still don’t fully understand how it works. It moves

on average one hundred thousand separate times in a single day; conducts its own maintenance work while we sleep; has automatic aim, focus, and aperture adjustment; provides color, stereoscopic 3-D images; and can function from almost total darkness to bright light automatically. It can discern more than sixteen million color hues, including seven hundred shades of grey. In fact, Charles Darwin himself said, “To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”

Your skin can contain in one square centimeter: 3,000 sensory cells, 12 heat sensors, 200 pain sensors, 700 sweat glands, 1 yard of blood vessels, 3 million cells, and 4 yards of nerves that send messages to our brains at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. Your brain weighs 5

only about 3 pounds yet contains 12 billion cells, each of which is connected to 10,000 other brain cells, making 120 trillion connections. It generates more electrical impulses in a single day than all of the world’s telephones put together yet uses less energy than a refrigerator light.

The DNA molecules in your body contain the most densely packed and elaborately detailed assembly of information in the known universe. Their code is so unbelievably complex that if you printed out all of your body’s DNA chemical “letters” in books, it is estimated that it would create enough books to fill the Grand Canyon fifty times!

Of course, I could go on and on and on citing the wonders of gravity and magnetism that science still cannot fully explain, the flawless rhythm of the solar system, the perfect balance of nitrogen and oxygen in earth’s atmosphere that makes life possible, the amazing order in nature that forms a selfsupporting system of life, reproduction, and waste disposal.

But is any of this necessary? What more evidence do we need that our world has been created with intelligence and purpose than the beauty, order, and design we see around us and within us?

watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day” (The Message).

No person who has ever been created is an accident, a fluke of nature, the hapless by-product of the union of a man and a woman, or the result of millions of years of unguided mishaps. Every person who has ever been born is a unique creation, an intentional work of art crafted by the hand of the master artist.

God called Jeremiah a “prophet” before he was born. God called John a “forerunner” before he was born. God called Samson a “deliverer” before he was born.

And this is why, even though God found a trembling, perspiring coward in the winepress, He called Gideon “a mighty man of fearless courage.” God saw inside Gideon the potential He had created in him before he was born. While Gideon was still in his mother’s womb, God called him a mighty man of valor, and God never gave up on that dream for Gideon’s life.

Someone once told me, “I don’t believe in God.” I said, “That’s unfortunate, because God believes in you.” Before you were even born, before God began to fashion and form you, before He began to knit you together in your mother’s womb, He had a dream for you and a plan for your life. He had a holy calling for you to fulfil. Paul told Timothy that it was God “who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim. 1:9).

God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5, nkjv). God both knew and crafted a destiny for Jeremiah the prophet even before his birth. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit and called to be the forerunner of Jesus even before he was born (Luke 1:15). Samson was called to be a great deliverer before he was conceived in his mother’s womb (Judg.13:4–5).

Isaiah 46:10 says God declares “the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done” (nkjv). Romans 4:17 says that God “quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.” Psalm 139:15–16 says, “You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you

Gideon was full of imperfections, he was not esteemed highly in the eyes of other people, and he was a downright looser in his own eyes.

But God looked at Gideon just as Michelangelo looked at that 6

rejected piece of marble. In Gideon God could see beauty where everyone else saw only defects. My friend, you might have been written off by everyone else. You might think your life is far too flawed to ever be something beautiful. But our God is the master artist! He sees “an angel” in the rock of your life, and He wants to set it free. Throughout your life, no matter where you go or what you do, whenever God looks at you, He sees inside of you the potential He placed within you, and He is always calling to that potential as He called Lazarus out of the grave, “Come out!” God wants to take your life from the junkyard of the devil and turn it into a masterpiece, a trophy of His amazing grace and mercy.

Reproduced with kind permission Christ for all Nations.

An extract from Daniel’s new book- Live before you die. £9.99 BUY NOW. Consider making a donation to CfaN by following this link: donate to CfaN

Prophet of the Broken Heart: The Cry of Hosea

Their Sins of Omission There was no faithfulness to God or man - you could trust no one. No loving kindness or mercy shown to those in need. Worse, there was no knowledge of God. This was inexcusable, since God's covenant people had received the law through Moses. The Word of God had become so irrelevant to them that it was ignored. Many were not even aware of what the law required. The people knew little or nothing about God, such was the extent that false religion had taken over and become a national way of life.

© Littlemacproductions

Extract from our new book: not yet released!

Chapter 4 God Goes to Court The illustration drawn from Hosea’s relationship with Gomer has now ended. It has served its purpose and is not mentioned again. From now on the prophet reverts to the more usual way of preaching to the people.

1 The Legal Case Against Israel

Their Sins of Commission The sins of commission were just as bad: swearing, lying, killing, stealing and adultery. There could be no doubt that God's law had been broken (Ex. 20:13-16). By swearing, the prophet did not mean the use of bad language, but rather the taking of false oaths in the name of God. In modern courts, this is perjury or lying to a court under oath. Lying was so commonplace that one would be shocked to hear a true word spoken. This was true in every area of life, in the home, in business, even in the place of worship.

4:1-2 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites! For the LORD has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel.

For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God. There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed.

No one could doubt the clarity of God's command, "do not kill" (Ex. 20:13), but in the Israel of Hosea's day murder was common. If a man were angry at another, he would be ready to lash out, whether his anger was reasonable or not. The land was stained with bloodshed.

The Lord had a case to bring against his people, like a legal case being brought against someone in court.

God is the plaintiff, the judge and the lawgiver. God accuses His people of three sins of omission and five of commission.

Amos had pointed out that the rich oppressed and took from the poor to become richer. But the poor were guilty too; and how could the rulers, who were dishonest themselves, crack down on theft? So the increase in crime was left unchecked. The whole society was corrupt and selfish.

7

The religion in which the people were entangled was one which encouraged immorality. Sex with prostitutes in the temples was not so much an indulgence as an act of worship.

Female prostitutes were on offer for the men and male prostitutes were available for the women. In such a prevailing atmosphere of immorality it is hardly surprising that adultery was commonplace. Sin had broken down the moral fabric of society until an "anything goes" culture prevailed.

What a vivid picture of our land today!

4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.

Having found Israel guilty, the judge passes sentence. The law gave clear penalties for those who broke it.

Among these were droughts, locusts, loss of livestock. All these were to come to Israel. The land and the animals that lived there would be affected as God meted out judgment on the people. Even the fish would die, as God withdrew this food supply from people's mouths.

4:4-5 Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: for my case is against you priests! You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; You have destroyed your own people!

As judgment fell, it was not time to lay blame on others. All the people were equally guilty. A similar teaching is found in the New Testament. Paul says in Romans 3:23 that ‘all have sinned’ and in Romans 2:1 he says, ‘Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.’

Believers are warned not to take a judgmental attitude and apportion blame to others, whatever the circumstances (Matt. 7:1-5).

against me. They have turned their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace! They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity!

2. The Failure of the Priesthood The priests were supposed to teach and instruct the people in the way of God and lead them by good example (Malachi 2:7). Instead of this, the priests had led the people into idolatry, as had the so-called prophets who actually spoke in the name of Baal. Because of this neither priest nor prophet would be spared. Their entire families would be wiped out so that idolatry might be purged from Israel.

4:6 You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants.

Had the priests instructed the people in the law and requirements of God, they would have returned to the Lord and repented of their sin. As it was, destruction had come upon them for lack of this knowledge. Those who were in possession of the truth and who could have instructed others chose rather to reject the truth for a lie.

This wilful ignorance of what they knew to be God’s Word made them even guiltier. God would remove them from their priestly office. Although the priesthood was meant to be hereditary, they had forgotten the law given them by God. Therefore God would forget their children, or in other words, their children would not be priests either. God would abolish the priesthood, and it would cease to function in Israel.

4:7-8 The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled

The priests made a lot of money out of their false religion, and the more they had, the deeper they sank into sin as a means of making more money. Their ‘glorious calling’ was to lead many into righteousness, but instead they had led many into sin, which would be to their eternal shame (Dan. 12:2-3).

There is a great responsibility for all those who, in any capacity, lead others into sin.

Because idolatrous religion brought them their income, they had a vested Interest in the people continuing to sin. That is why God says, very literally, that they fed on the sin of his people, since they ate the sacrifices that were made to the golden calves.

Tatford says, "There could scarcely be any greater impropriety than that of the priest, whose duty was to nurture the people in the faith, officially encouraging the transgressions of the sinner."

Let neither the church nor yet its ministers be guilty of condoning or of encouraging others to remain in their sin.

4:9-10 I will deal with the people and priests together: I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds. They will eat, but not be satisfied; they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers; because they have abandoned the LORD by pursuing other gods.

Both the priests and the people would be punished together. Although the priests were guilty of leading the people into sin, that fact did not 8

excuse the people of their own responsibility.

Once again Hosea warns that God's retribution would involve famine they shall eat but not be satisfied. The worship of Baal supposedly made the people and the land fertile, but now the land would be infertile and the people childless. The blessings, of food and of children, are bestowed by God. He would withdraw these blessings from an unthankful people who no longer paid any attention to his word.

3. Turning from God to Follow Demons 4:11-14 Old and new wine take away the understanding of my people. They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner's staff answers with an oracle.

The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God. They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery! I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men consort with harlots, they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. It is true: "A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!"

The people whom God had redeemed from Egypt, whom he had made his own, and to whom he had given his law, saw no form when they received that law (Deut. 4:1-2). Yet they had turned their backs on the living and true God. They no longer sought guidance from God, but from idols.

They asked their blocks of wood for help and indeed their blocks of wood apparently answered them. Kiel tells

us how this was done, "Two rods were held upright and then allowed to fall, while forms of incantation were being uttered; and the oracle was inferred from the way in which they fell."

spiritual understanding, would be dashed to the ground. There was no hope for them. Their destruction was at hand.

4. A Warning Against Compromise

The Lord accuses the people of becoming stupid; their continual indulgence in sexual immorality and drink had dulled their senses and robbed them of spiritual discernment (Eph. 4:18). It also robbed them of self-respect and respect for the marriage union. Sin takes its toll on the mind as well as the body.

Hosea makes plain that it was a spirit which had led them astray to worship idols rather than God. The New Testament confirms this truth. "You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, even as you were led" (see 1 Cor. 12:2; Eph. 2:2 and 1 John 4:1).

Demon spirits who do the bidding of their master Satan seek to blind men and women to the truth and lead them to an everlasting hell (2 Cor. 4:4).

These spirits also seek to disturb and distract God's own people and turn them away from following the truth (1 Tim. 4:1 and 1 John 2:18).

The people of Israel had become pagans, worshipping the so called gods of nature and natural forces. Many such deities were worshipped, known in plural as Baalim. The reference to shade illustrates how the people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

The union of the men with shrine prostitutes set an example which was followed by their wives and daughters.

That is why God says that he will hold the men, the head of the household, responsible for the situation.

The tragic conclusion of this statement is that the people, being devoid of

4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not journey to Gilgal! Do not go up to Beth Aven! Do not swear, "As surely as the LORD lives!"

Here was a warning for Israel's neighbour Judah, not to follow Israel in the way of idolatry. The faithful people of Judah were warned to stay well away from the places where Israel kept her pagan shrines. This is a timely warning for us today. Christians must keep clear of anything that would lead us away from Jesus Christ. We must keep away from places where others indulge in pagan revelry, for we are not to associate with those who do such things (2 Cor. 6:16-17).

A drinking party is no place for a Christian. The sports team of the local pub is no place for a Christian.

Certainly the home of those who are involved in black arts or who are in touch with demons is no place for a Christian even to visit. If you do go there, be warned that the demons will be able to attack you and you will not be protected.

Hosea gave this warning because he knew that the influence on Judah would lead her astray from God. In fact, it later did. Christians should never compromise with sin and darkness, for eventually, such compromise will lead them away from God, back into sin, and ultimately to hell (2 Peter 2:20-21).

5. Israel Provides an Illustration of Apostasy

9

Having known God, the nation of Israel had turned from him. This was a national apostasy. Only judgment could result. The apostate Christian is one who has known God, but who has now forsaken him and denies that he ever knew him. Nothing can await such a person but judgment (John 15:6).

4:16-19 Israel has rebelled like a stubborn heifer! Soon the LORD will put them out to pasture like a lamb in a broad field! Ephraim has attached himself to idols; Do not go near him!

They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior. A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings; they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship.

The prophet asks, "Should a cow that is prone to wandering be allowed to roam freely?" The answer is, of course not. Freedom and blessing were not suitable for a nation which, like an obstinate cow, was stubborn against God. Ephraim is another name for Israel.

She was irreparably joined to idols, and should be left alone to suffer the consequences of her sin. It is of note that Judah never fought to defend Israel. We can only do so much to help people. After that, we can only leave them to face the consequences of their folly.

When the people had finished drinking, they looked for immorality.

The rulers were among those leading the way both in drink and immorality.

Because of this, Hosea, in remarkable picture language, speaks of the suddenness and violence with which Israel will be carried away by Assyria, as being caught up and carried away in a whirlwind which they are helpless to resist.

Why do the Righteous Suffer?

By Wesley Chick Image Š Filip Emmanuel Opening remarks: The book of Job. Main subject: The problem of job s affliction.

The account begins with a very prosperous, respected and good man who was devastated in one day. He lost everything he had, including his ten children.

However, he refused to blame God for his troubles. Later he was stricken with a terrible disease and he suffered terrible pain for a long time. Then, in 3 dialogues, some of his friends came to comfort him, but then began to criticise him along traditional lines of religious thought. They were certain that all of these horrible things which happened to him were due to his own sin. They simply thought that all suffering is always the result of

sin. So, if Job would only repent of his sins all would be well again. Job knew better. He was sure that he did not deserve this cruel punishment, but he could not understand how God could let this happen to him. So he thought that God must be dealing unfairly with him or there was some other unknown explanation. He boldly asked God to allow him to plead his own case he struggled on with the confidence that he would eventually be vindicated. Job never lost his faith.

Another friend, Elihu, comes to him and explains that afflictions sometimes do come from God in order to purify the righteous and that this, in no way, indicates that God is unloving. It is only His way of calling us back to Him, like a 10

father chastening his children.

Suffering sometimes instructs us in righteousness and prevents us from sinning. He cautioned Job not to questioned God or accuse him.

He told him to humbly submit himself to God s will.

Then God spoke. God chose not to answer any of Job s questions.

Instead, God overwhelmed Job with a scenic view of His creative power and divine wisdom. Then God reprimanded Job s friends for not understanding the true meaning of Job’s suffering. Job was truly humbled and felt foolish.

Finally, God restored to Job twice what he had before.

There are many lessons to be learned from this book. The two main ones being:

1) The power of Satan allowed in human life.

2) The use of suffering in God s plans as a means of perfecting character.

Job.5v17+18: Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty. For he makes sore and binds up. He wounds and his hands make whole.

Job.6v4: For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison drinks up my spirit. The terrors of God set themselves against me.

Job.14v7: For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again and that the tender branch will not cease.

Job.16v12: I was at ease, but he has broken me asunder. He has also taken me by my neck and shaken me to pieces and set me up for his mark.

Job.23v10: But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

The book of Psalms has been a great comfort to many Christians through the centuries. The main themes are prayer and praise. But the Psalms cover a great variety of religious experiences. There are Messianic Psalms, Psalms about man, Psalms about the worldly and the wicked, Psalms about the word of God, Psalms about His divine attributes, Psalms about Israel s experiences and Psalms about religious experiences. One of these

being concerned with affliction.

These are found in chapters 6;13;22;69;88;102. For example :Ps.66v10-11: For you, O God have proved us: you have tried us, as silver is tried. You brought us into the net: you laid affliction on our loins.

Ps.90v7: For we are consumed by your anger and by your wroth are we troubled.

Ps.102v9-10: For I have eaten ashes like bread and mingled my drink with weeping. Because of your indignation and your wroth: For you have lifted me up and cast me down.

Ps.119v50: This is my comfort in my affliction: for your word has quickened me.

Suffering in the New Testament Turning to the New Testament we read in Matt.10v24+25: the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his lord.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

We see in the gospels, how much our Lord suffered. So we, as his followers, should expect it too.

Ro.8v17: And if children, then heirs; heirs of god and joint heirs with Christ: If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

11

Ja.5v10: Take, my brothers, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering, affliction and of patience.

1 Pe.2v20: For what glory is it, if, when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently?

But if, when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. We see in this verse, that afflictions and trials can come because of some fault of our own.

But if an affliction or trial comes our way that is not our fault but an act of the enemy of our souls, if we endure this patiently it is acceptable in Gods sight.

Some examples of trials believers maybe called upon to endure for our Lords sake.

1) Persecution. Matt.5v11: Blessed are you, when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

2) Hatred. Matt.10v22: And you shall be hated of all men for my names sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.

3) Loss of life. Matt.10v39: He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.

4) Suffering. Ac.9v16: For I will show him what great things he must suffer for my names sake.

It is a mystery, that suffering and affliction is sometimes allowed by

God as a mark of our heavenly fathers love.

Dute.8v5: You shall also consider in your heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

Ps.94v12: Blessed is the man whom you chasten, O Lord and teaches him out of your law.

Pr.3v11-12: My son despise not the chastening of the Lord: neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loves he corrects: even as a father the son in whom he delights.

Afflictions and trials can often be blessings in disguise.

Ps.119v67: Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now I have kept your word.

2 Co.4v17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Ep.3v15: Wherefore, I desire that you faint not at my tribulations for you, which is for your glory.

He.12v5+6: And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to children. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives.

We also learn from the scriptures that suffering and affliction can have a refining effect on the believer.

Is.48v10: Behold, I have refined you, but not with silver: I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

Mal.3v3: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.

He.12v11: Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyful, but grievous: nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby.

1.Pet.1v7: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

1.Pe.4v12-13: Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice, inasmuch as you are part takers of Christ s sufferings. That when his glory is revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.

We see from these scriptures that the sufferings and afflictions of the believer are not necessarily the result of sin. It can be the result of an attack of the Devil, which, for reasons we don’t understand and might even question, God, in his divine wisdom, allows to come our way.

Like Job, we must trust God and he will explain it all in heaven. We used to sing old chorus years ago.

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.

The bible also tells us, that, true believers will not faint during such suffering or affliction.

2.Cor.4v1: Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not: and in verse 16 it says: for which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

12

(c) Macromega

The Book of Esther

Chapter Eight: A brief Bible study by Derek Williams.

Photo: © Dreamstime Agency

Mordecai Exalted 8:1-2 8.1. On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate1 of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her.

On the same day that Haman was hanged King Ahasuerus gave all the property that belongs to Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther.

The king summoned Mordecai to come before him for Esther had told the king that Mordecai was related to her and how he had brought her up.

8.2. The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai.

And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman's estate.

The king removed his signet ring which he had taken back off Haman, and gave it to Mordecai thus appointing him in place of Haman as his “Lord Chancellor” the highest office in his kingdom. Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

Esther Pleads for her People 8:3-6 8.3. Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might

nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite which he had intended against the Jews.

she shows that she is fully submissive to his authority and beneficence (his goodness, generosity). She also wisely vindicates the king of any hand in the schemes of Haman by asking him to rescind the decree that Haman had send throughout all the king’s provinces to destroy the Jews.

8.6. For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?"

She tells the king that she cannot bear to stand by and see the catastrophe that will come upon her people and her own family slaughtered.

In the King’s Name 8:7-14 This however, did not solve the problem of the decree that had been sent throughout the king’s dominions to exterminate the Jews. So Esther spoke again to the king. Throwing herself at his feet she pleading with him to have mercy and repeal the order that Haman had devised against the Jews.

8.4. When the king extended to Esther the gold sceptre, she arose and stood before the king.

The king again extended the gold sceptre towards Esther and she arose and stood before him.

8.5. She said, "If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king's provinces.

Esther uses various phrases in her appeal to the king “If it seems good to the king”. “If I have found favour in the sight of the king”. “If it seems the right thing for the king to do” By so doing 13

8.7. King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Look, I have already given Haman's estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action against the Jews.

In verse six Esther had told king Ahasuerus that she couldn’t bear to stand by and see her people and relatives massacred under the degree that Haman had given in the king’s name. In response the king reminds Esther and Mordecai that he has already given Haman’s estate to Esther and hanged Haman and therefore will withhold nothing back from them to foil the degree as it could not be altered according the law of the Medes and Persians.

8.8. Now you write in the king's name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king's signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring cannot be rescinded.

The king gives them authority in his name to do whatever they think is

good for the benefit of the Jews and to set his seal upon it. Whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring cannot be altered.

All power and authority have been given to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Father (Matthew 28:18). Every Christian has been given authority in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to ask anything of God the Father (John 14:13 - 14). It is in His Name that we are saved (Acts 2:21). It is in His name that the sick are healed and demons cast out (Mark 16:17 - 18).

8.11 - 12. The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves — to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, and to confiscate their property. This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus — namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).

8.9. The king's scribes were quickly summoned — in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twentythird day. They wrote out everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia — a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all — to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

The order given in the king’s name allowed the Jews throughout his dominions to make a stand together and defend their lives on the day that Haman had appointed for them to be annihilated, 7 March the following year. They were given permission to kill and wipe out any who attacked them whatever their nationality.

On the 25 June (NLB) the king’s secretaries were called and a decree was written exactly as Mordecai dictated to them. This was sent to all the Jews, the king’s officers and governors and nobles throughout the hundred and twenty-seven provinces in their own language.

8.10. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.

All these were written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring thus given the authority to the king’s official to comply with the order.

These were quickly dispatched by messengers on swift horses.

8.13. A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

A copy of the order was to be issued as law throughout every province and made known to all the people so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge upon their enemies.

Note: This was not retaliation for the wrong that had been done to them but self-defence; it was kill or be killed.

Vengeance is the prerogative, the right of God (Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19).

8.14. The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king's edict without delay. And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well.

The messengers were given horses from the royal stables and were sent 14

out without delay with the king’s decree.

It was also proclaimed throughout the palace and city of Shushan.

Great Joy 8:15-17 8.15. Now Mordecai went out from the king's presence in purple and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy.

Mordecai went from the king’s presence wearing a royal robe of purple and white and a great crown of gold and a garment of fine purple linen. The city of Shushan celebrated with great joy over the new decree.

8.16. For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor.

The Jews in the city had a new hope and joy in their hearts and were honoured throughout the city.

8.17. Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king's edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples pretended to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.

As soon as the king’s decree reached the provinces the Jews in city, town and village were greatly relieved and rejoiced. They celebrated by declaring public holidays and festivals. Many of the nationals that they dwelt among became Jews because a fear had come upon them of what the Jews might do to them.

There is a greater joy in heaven than this when a soul is saved (Matthew 15:7) and there is a greater joy to those who draw from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3) and rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:18).

Praise for salvation

our

past

I waited patiently on the Lord. The word waited is used twice, and means to cling on to, to hold on and come near. It is that seeking of God which will not let him go without getting as close to him as possible, and in this instance it was that he might meet a need. In waiting I wait; by clinging I clung to the Lord, in trust and faith.

He inclined to me means a bending down and stretching out of the hand. So God does more than incline his ear to us; he stretches out his whole power and personality to employ himself to meet our needs.

He heard my hallooing. When I cry aloud with my voice God will hear me and draw near to answer me.

Psalm 40 Praise and Prayer for Salvation Past, Present and Future

by Mathew Bartlett

Photos: © Kmitu & Godfer

2 God stretches down to pull me up out of the pit of destruction (horrible), a pit is a low place in the ground and this pit is the lowest place of all. God has lifted us up out of the sticky mud, that which attaches itself and will not let go.

What a picture of sin which attaches itself and will not let us go! Sin does not release those who practice it (Eccl. 8:8). God has powerfully acted in Christ to deliver and cleanse us from our sins, setting s us free (Rev. 1:7) Having cleansed us, he set our feet upon a high and lofty rock an exalted place. Think of this picture, out of the lowest pit, to the highest palace, exalted in Christ Jesus to sit in heavenly places; no longer a slave of sin but a son of God. No 15

longer in darkness, but in marvellous light; no longer separated from God by sin but brought near by Christ’s precious blood. No longer dead in sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He established my goings means he has established the way we take. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. God has prepared good works for his children which he has foreordained that we should walk in them. He has anointed us with his Holy Spirit and sent us forth to preach the gospel in this name to every creature, and to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Our steps are established and so is our direction: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” He has given us purpose and direction in life, and that is it – go in his name!

3 The reason it is a new song is that we could never sing it before we were saved. Until a man is delivered from the pit of destruction he has no reason to sing this song. But the most beautiful birdsong in the world cannot compare with the song of the redeemed - it is the song of a soul set free. It is a song which even angels can never ever sing.

We sing like happy birds beneath the mother bird’s wings; fully secure and satisfied in Christ. I will satisfy him - my river of delights.

Our song is the hymn of praise to our God. Ephesians says that we should be to the praise of his glory.

Christians are exhorted in

numerous ways to sing and praise the Lord together.

Music and song are tools. It is we who are to worship and to praise, and whilst beautiful music is a help, but it cannot replace the need for heartfelt worship.

As a result of this praise, many will observe, be filled with a reverential awe of God, and trust in the Lord.

Such praise characterised the early church: (Act 2:47 KJV) ‘Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.’

4 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his security or refuge. He has no regard for the insolent or those who turn aside; he repudiates such behaviour. The word lies can mean idols, or the love of worldly things which according to Paul is the equivalent of idolatry. If I can't abide those who are disobedient, wilful, or lack faith, then it shows that I am on the side of God. 5. God has done abundant wonderful things, not only in his creation, but also in securing our redemption. We could spend many weeks discovering from the Scripture what God has done for us in Christ, and we would still have the individual testimonies of millions of Christians to consider.

No wonder they cannot be listed or counted. They are more than can be numbered, as it says of the miracles of Jesus, not even the whole world could contain the books which would be written.

Like David we give God thanks for the salvation we have already come to know in our experience.

Prophecy of our future salvation 6 What does God want in return for his great acts of mercy toward us? It is not sacrifice, but the offering of our whole lives.

The Psalm now turns at once into prophecy, depicting the fulfilment (and hence abolition) of the sacrificial law by that act which abolishes of sin. For all the sacrifices offered by the law pointed to the greater and more perfect sacrifice to come. And since Christ has offered himself once, there is no more need for the offerings according to the law.

The very fact that the offerings were offered continually under the Old Testament spoke of their inability to take away sin, as the writer to the Hebrews says "If so, would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshippers once cleansed would have had no more conscience of sins."

By the offering of the body of Jesus Christ he has put away sin once and for all by the sacrifice of himself. God's will was the taking away of the one covenant and the introduction of a new, more perfect covenant. The New Covenant is ratified by a person, Jesus Christ. My ears you have opened or a body you have prepared me, both possible renderings speak of our Saviour.

The Holy Spirit prepared the body of Jesus to be a holy temple in 16

which God the Son might become manifest in human form. This holy sacred body would remain without sin and blemish until ultimately it was offered upon the cross, Christ's life being the one sufficient offering for sin for all time.

My ears you have opened indicates the sense of his not being rebellious. If someone has ears to hear it means they are ready at once to listen and obey. But it also has another meaning in the Old Testament. If a servant loved his master and did not wish to go out free in the year of Jubilee, then he could volunteer to become his master's bond slave for life, bound by love to his master. If this were his wish, then he was taken to the door post of his masters house and his ear was pierced through with an awl to the post, one might consider it to be a picture of Christ who always loved his father and did what his father commanded him, being obedient to death, even the death of the cross; where not his ear but his whole body was nailed to that piece of wood.

7 All that Christ came to do was foretold in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. From David’s point of view this salvation was future. Behold I come, in fulfilment of all these promises. Jesus is amen, the faithful and true witness, the fulfilment of all the promises of God. 8 Christ passion was his love for God, his was delight to do the will of God and keep the law of God. God's nature, expressed in his law, was written and impressed upon

Christ's heart for he is the image of the invisible God. Father and Son share all the same attributes; yet as a man Christ he kept all the commands of God perfectly, was without sin and offered his perfect life to God on our behalf.

9 Clearly this was God's will, that the way of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ should be made known to the great congregation. Notice the method.

It is by the gospel that God's way of righteousness is proclaimed. We are called to go into all the world and announce God's righteousness or justification by faith.

God’s method is preaching, for it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe. It was to the great congregation. There is little point in confining the preaching of the gospel to a pulpit, although there are a great deal of advantage in preaching in a church service, mainly to do with the amount of time we have, and the ability to challenge and counsel souls.

But although God each week brings the unsaved along to church, there are thousands more who need to hear. And so we must go to them in the highways and byways, in open air and by tract distribution, to old people’s homes and by children’s outreach, personal testimony and invitation.

10 This good news is not something we can keep tor ourselves, it is something to be shouted from the housetops. Peter said we cannot BUT speak the

things which we have seen and heard.

To speak of God's salvation and his faithfulness to us is a habit of personal witness that we must rediscover. It is not mean intruding where we're not wanted, but so living with Christ as the centre of our lives that speaking of him becomes the natural thing to do, not forced or stained. Those who have a gift for personal soul winning also have winning ways.

I do not excel in it, but feel I must practise more.

Yet Christ here speaks of the great congregation, it is through preaching that we reach the vast crowds. I admire the ministry of Open Air Mission, whose motto is ‘the master among the masses’, as they preach in town centres across the UK. At what point does prophecy end and prayer begin again? Prophecy and prayer are so linked in the psalms that it is hard to tell, and sometimes it is not so important to know this as to grasp hold of the truth contained in both the prayer and the prophecy. Some parts of the Psalm speak of Christ only, yet other parts speak firstly of David and in a greater way of Christ.

Other parts clearly speak of David himself, but not Christ, such as here where he confesses his sin to God. If the salvation we have experienced in the past was yet future for David, we too can see a future fulfilment of our salvation.

Christ will return again to collect 17

his purchased possession, returning to this earth to take us home to be forever with him. What a glorious salvation future is yet to be fulfilled for us, even as this prophecy was also fulfilled!

Prayer for Salvation

Present

Just because we are saved, and are going to be saved with everlasting salvation from the very presence of all evil does not debar us from crying to God for his help and mercy in the present. We are in as much need as other men, and perhaps more so when it comes to the troubles of this life. So with David we pray for present deliverance.

11 Do not restrict your tender mercies O Lord, like the flowing of a mighty river I need all the compassion and mercy you can give me, and you can give much.

David's prayer is that God's lovingkindness would safeguard him continually. If we only knew the dangers we face we would be terrified, but unlike the ostrich which hides its head in the sand, Christ hides our souls in the cleft of the rock. At this very time, and not only in the future heaven, our lives are hid with Christ in God. Not only God’s loving-kindness but also His truth will safeguard us.

God cannot go back on his word and this gives us great comfort and hope, for what he has promised is great and deeply assuring. He has promised us eternal life and no one shall ever snatch us out of his hand. He has promised I will never

leave you nor forsake you, and he never will.

12 David needs this assurance as evils too many to be counted had overtaken and surrounded him.

Once again we can identify with the sweet singer of Israel on this point. Our troubles, like his, are as diverse as they are numerous.

When David prays for his own sins and failures, we feel a kinship with him. Temptation seems to strong, O lord shelter me, from the evil of my own sin, O Lord rescue me.

David felt too ashamed to look up, either to look men or god in the eye because of his own sin, but he can still pray. Rescue me Lord, show me I am accepted in the beloved, forgiven and able to approach the throne of grace with freedom and confidence because of the blood of the Lord Jesus.

My heart fails. My courage is gone.

But strengthen me O Lord. You said

be of good courage, be strong and very courageous, help me once again Lord to act in faith and fear not. Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart.

13 The word pleased means to satisfy a debt. God didn't owe David anything and he owes no man anything, but here David calls upon God to honour his promise. If the promise were like a cheque, David here presents it to God begging for speedy payment. Make haste to help and deliver me, according to your word of promise.

14-15 Here is another evil that compassed David, those who sought to destroy his life, not only his body but his soul as well. They are malevolent, for they wish him evil. Let them be driven backward and put to shame, let them be confounded, unable to achieve their aims against me, let them be desolate. What David is saying is

let them get what they deserve.

They were looking to catch David in things he said and did just as they sought to trap our Lord in Matthew 23, to take away his life.

16-17 The psalmist wishes blessing to be the portion of all who trust in the Lord. May all who seek you be glad and rejoice in you. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.

Those who have experienced salvation say continually, the Lord be magnified or praised. I am poor and needy, but the Lord thinks on me, do not delay your help O Lord!

Just as we have praised God for past deliverance, and trusted his promise of future deliverance, so as we cry out to God we can expect his present deliverance, God will not delay a moment longer than necessary. AMEN

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 40:3 He gave me reason to sing a new song, praising our God.

18

Our In Depth Study.

1 Corinthians 3:1-15

By Mathew Bartlett Photo © Godfer Scripture taken from the NET Bible®.

Chapter 3 Growing in Christ (Part 1) Stunted Growth 3:1-2 So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready.

Although in 2:15 Paul had described the Corinthians as spiritual, meaning that they were born of the Spirit, he realized that they were far being mature in their spiritual behaviour. So in this chapter he further highlights the problem of spiritual immaturity in the Corinthian church.

Young converts to Christ are like new born babies (1 Pet. 2:2). None of us would expect a baby to eat meat, or behave like an adult. The child must grow and develop into adulthood, and growth is a slow but sure process. When the church in Corinth began, Paul gave the new converts simple instruction in the Christian faith, teaching them what was suitable for their stage of spiritual growth. He had ‘breast-fed them with milk’.

By the time of writing, Paul had expected them to have reached maturity, but he found to be them still behaving like infants. Their spiritual growth had been stunted; their lives revealed that they had

made very little progress in the Christian faith. The same problem was observed by the writer to the Hebrew Christians: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and TM not solid food (Heb. 5:12 NKJV ).

The reason many Christians remain spiritual babies when they should be maturing in God is that they lack certain essentials to growth, namely desire and commitment. If any man or woman will determine today to commit themselves fully to God and to seek Him with all their hearts then their progress in their relationship with God will soon be evident to all (1 Tim. 4:15).

3:3 For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

TM (NKJV ) The Corinthians’ predisposition to envy and bickering was more characteristic of unconverted men than of the servants of Jesus Christ.

These characteristics had become prominent because they had not allowed Christ to take full control of their lives. Paul was compelled to describe them as carnal, for they had allowed the old nature have its way and not Christ. The word translated carnal (sarkikos) is a 19

different word to the one used earlier in 1 Corinthians 2:14 for natural man (psuchikos); for whereas the former means a person characterized by the deeds of the flesh, the latter it indicates a person without the spiritual nature of Christ. Paul did not doubt that the Corinthian believers had been genuinely converted, and that Christ lived in them, but he was intensely disappointed to find the deeds of the old nature still dominant in their lives. Paul asks a searching question: ‘how is it that you are still behaving like men of the world?’

Our behaviour is a very important element of our Christian witness and testimony. As believers we must always allow the Lord to take command of every area of our lives.

For the jealousy and quarrelling which characterised the Corinthians we might easily substitute any of the other works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:19-21. If as a Christian you want to know how you are growing in the Lord, ask yourself some probing questions: What am I still doing which I did before I knew the Lord?

Do I react in the same way to upsets, offenses and disagreements now as I did then, or has there been a change in my attitude?

Are there any areas of my life which I still have not surrendered to Christ’s absolute control?

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to regularly examine our behaviour and attitudes in the light of His Word, and learn to submit to his teaching so that we might practically become renewed in the spirit of our minds (Rom. 12:2).

3:4 For whenever someone says, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human?

The believers at Corinth had permitted discord to grow in Corinth which had resulted in the church being divided into at least two main groups - those who followed Paul and those who followed Apollos, although there were other smaller parties as well (see 1 Cor. 1:11-12). By implication from verse three, it was jealousy which had led to this division. Paul argues that this type of conduct belongs to the spirit of the times, or the wisdom of this world; and that it makes evident the worldliness of the Corinthians. This behaviour was inappropriate for those who were in Christ, and conflicted with the real meaning of the Gospel.

God's Fellow Workers 3:5 What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.

In order to make clear why such factions are wrong, Paul reminds the believers that God Himself had saved them all alike through the Gospel of His only Son; and that just as this Gospel was not the product of man’s wisdom, so also it is not augmented by the talents of men.

Paul and Apollos were messengers who proclaimed the good news of salvation in Christ. The prominence which the Corinthians gave to these messengers disclosed their low opinion of God. It was God, not the messengers whom they had to thank for the salvation of their souls.

Paul emphasizes the lowly position and relative unimportance of God’s messengers, referring to himself and Apollos as servants, a word which denotes a lowly servant, or an attendant. The same word is often translated deacons and was used to denote those who served the church in practical ways. It is true that God has ordained that men should hear the good news from other men, who since they are saved themselves are qualified to share the news. But the substance of the glorious message, and its power to change lives, came from neither Paul nor Apollos, but from God. 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow.

As Paul commenced his work in Corinth, he became the first ever to proclaim the Gospel in that city. As a result of his preaching, a number of people were saved and the church began to grow. When Paul left them to carry on his traveling ministry, Apollos arrived and by his teaching helped the new converts to develop in their Christian faith. In this way the church was built up.

Paul compares his and Apollos' work in the Gospel with the work of farm labourers. Paul had initially sowed the seed of the Gospel among the Corinthians, and Apollos had subsequently watered the new converts by spiritual instruction so that they might mature and grow.

20

Two men working in the same field will be aware that whilst one of them may sow the seed and another may water the crops, only God can produce the harvest.

Christian workers today should be aware of their limitations, as Paul was. Whether we proclaim Christ to those who have never heard, or build on the hard work of former generations of missionaries, we can neither save nor grow a soul. That is God's work, and whilst we are fellow-workers with Him, we must take care of our side of the work, for we can never take over his side!

3:7 So neither the one who plants counts for anything, nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth.

Evidently the most important person in the cultivating process is God, and it is the same in the matter of the Gospel. Next to His work, Paul and Apollos’ work appears somewhat insignificant, for it is neither the evangelist nor the pastor but Christ alone who can claim the honor for saving the souls of men (Rev. 7:10) and of building His own Church (Matt. 16:18).

3:8 The one who plants and the one who waters work as one, but each will receive his reward according to his work.

Paul and Apollos did not see each other not as competitors but as team mates. They worked together to accomplish the same purpose and would respectively receive their due reward from their heavenly master. Christian workers will not be rewarded on the basis of apparent success, but for faithfully doing whatever job God has given them. In agriculture, the harvesters may bring in the wheat, but unless the soil had first been ploughed, the

seed sown, the field weeded, and the crops watered, there would be no wheat for them to harvest.

Everyone has their own work to do, and the work of each one depends on the work of all the others. For this reason the harvester should not expect to receive more wages than the sower. Everyone will be rewarded for doing their own work, and this adds a sense of equality and fairness in the master’s treatment of all His faithful workers.

3:9 We are co-workers belonging to God. You are God's field, God's building.

The church never did belong to Paul, Apollos or any other minister.

Paul contends with those engaged in the power struggle at Corinth, stating that ‘we are working with God for your benefit - nevertheless you are God's’. Whether we think of the Church as a field being cultivated or as a building under construction, ultimately God is the One cultivating and building it. The Church is God's and He will not share it with another. He has delegated many tasks to His labourers for His Church’s benefit, but He remains the owner; just as many labourers worked in Boaz's field in Bethlehem and he paid them wages, but both the field and the harvest remained wholly Boaz’s property.

The Foundation and the Building 3:10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled masterbuilder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds.

Paul always recognised that God had enabled him by His grace to do all the work He had called him to do. We can be assured that

whenever God calls us to a task, He likewise equips us to do it. It should be observed that this equipment is entirely supernatural and finds its source in the grace of God. Like a capable master builder, Paul had laid the foundation of the church in Corinth. Others were now building on this foundation by working in the church. Paul did not consider himself superior to those currently labouring in Corinth; yet, by the grace of God, he was in a position to exhort them to be careful how they built 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The basis of our salvation has been laid by God – it is Jesus Christ Himself. This foundation has been laid once and forever (Isa. 28:16) by Christ’s atoning death and resurrection; which whilst it only occurred once remains effectual for all believers throughout all time and eternity.

When Paul said in 3:10 I laid a foundation he meant that he was the first to preach the Gospel in Corinth; and so a local church began as a result of his ministry. Yet the church, both in its local and universal context, began and continues to exist solely because of Christ. Jesus said I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).

Christ is the only foundation and let no one think they can lay another.

We cannot enter into a right relationship with God through any other means than by faith in Jesus Christ. Any so called Christian work or preaching which does not have Jesus Christ at its centre is an attempt to lay another foundation and such building will not stand the test of time.

21

3:12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw.

Despite the fact that there is only one foundation, men may build on it in various ways. The emphasis in this verse is placed on the quality and cost of the materials used in building. If any servant of Christ wants to build on this foundation something that will last for eternity, then they must use the sort of materials that will cost the effort of the servant’s whole heart and life, for only those who build in this way will receive an eternal reward.

Another servant may decide to use materials that cost him or her less, half-heartedly serving the Lord and not committing the whole of their time, effort and resources to the work of God. But a structure built in this way will not last for eternity and so will not yield an eternal reward.

A ministry built on cash might impress the world, but only the ministry built on commitment and conspicuous by its sacrifice will obtain Christ’s approval. In the day of reckoning, Christ will not ask His servants how well they preached, or how large were the crowds they drew by their fame or personalities.

He will ask only if we gave our lives completely to Him in utter surrender and devotion. It was not the miracle-working apostles who were commended by Christ, but a woman who poured on His feet the perfume which had cost her life’s savings (John 12:3). It was not the wealthy donors who poured their great riches into the temple treasury, but a poor widow who gave to God all she had who won our Lord’s attention (Luke 21:3-4).

At the end of John's Gospel, the reader is given privileged admission to a private discussion which Christ had with Peter after His resurrection. Walking along the shores of Galilee, the Master did not ask him ‘how big a church can you plant on the day of Pentecost?’ but instead do you love me? (John 21:17) Are we prepared to take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus Christ with our whole hearts? Is our service for the Lord identified by entire surrender to His will, and the sacrifice of all we hold dear? Or do we make our service for Christ fit into our own schedule? We can only truly build for God if we give the Lord what costs us everything - our time, our talents, and our money.

Shall we deny ourselves for the sake of Christ's work, or shall we offer to Him who gave His all for us something which costs us little?

3:13 Each builder's work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done.

On a future day, the work of each servant of God will come under the personal inspection of Jesus Christ, who knows the hearts of all men (John 2:25). When He comes again, to receive His own in the clouds (1 Thess. 4:17), every believer shall stand before Him as He delivers His own appraisal of our lives and of the service we have given Him. This event is called in 1 Corinthians 5:10 the judgment [bema] seat of Christ.

For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor. 5:10).

This judgment seat, or ‘bema’, was not the place where Supreme Court judges passed verdict on prisoners, but the place where the adjudicators of the Olympic Games gave honours to the victorious.

When Christians appear before the bema seat of Christ it will be a time of great celebration! This is not a place where we shall be judged for our sin, for that judgment has already fallen on our blessed Saviour at Calvary. Instead, at the ‘bema seat’, we will receive the reward of living victoriously for Jesus Christ in this world.

Many who are honoured in the public eye now will not be as honoured by Christ in that day; for He means to scrutinize men’s hearts and motives, not examine their CV or reputation. It is possible for someone to lead a successful ministry without suffering or sacrificing for Jesus' sake, but such people will not find themselves among the most highly honoured in that day. Many others, of whom we have never heard, will be honoured

by God, who knows their hearts, and sees that they were willing to part with all and suffer loss for Christ’s sake. To be revealed [tried] by fire is to have the true quality of one's work tested and approved.

Only two kinds of building material are described: the enduring type, i.e. gold, silver and precious stones; and the perishable type: wood, hay and stubble. Only the former will endure the fire, that is to say, be satisfactory to the Master when placed under His scrutiny. Christians should be aware that only work done for God in God's way will meet with Christ's approval on the day when He tests every person's motive. A life wholly committed to the Lord will gain us praise and 22

honor, the sign of His pleasure, when Christ comes again.

3:14-15 If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. If someone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Only believers will stand before the bema seat of Christ, and whilst those who have done well shall be honoured, those who have not done well shall not be disowned.

True, they shall miss an opportunity to win His approval on that day, which is of great worth, and even though this is a very serious matter; at no time is their souls’ salvation at stake, for that question has been settled at the cross. Believers do not go to heaven because of their good works, but through faith in Christ; but only those believers who have done well shall receive the praise they deserve in front of the whole Church.

Some have inferred from these verses that their position in heaven itself will be determined by what happens at the Bema seat, that the rewards and losses represent degrees of rack in heaven. But as Blomberg so pertinently observes, ‘doubtless all will have varying degrees of praise and blame from Christ on Judgment Day, but nothing in this passage even remotely suggests that such differing responses are somehow perpetuated throughout all eternity.’ A note for my fellow pastors: if Christ deals with His church in this way, then so should we. Praise your people loudly, brother, but blame them only softly. The Pentecostal Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians by Mathew Bartlett (paperback £6.99) Buy now for Kindle!

Britain’s Cheapest Gospel Tracts!

Buy Tracts Now Available now for £1.99 per pack of 50 (includes UK postage) Rest of world, contact for shipping price. Request samples.

Professionally printed copies of Living Word Magazine are available at cost price for you and your church members.

Contact Us Editor: Mathew Bartlett Living Word Magazine and Bible Studies

Bulk discounts available for orders of 20 or more. Contact us for details.

Online are ministries of Sharon Full Gospel Church. UK Reg. Charity No.

Current prices (UK pounds) including postage for 12 monthly issues are:

1050642 www.sharonchurch.co.uk

UK/USA £42 for 12 issues.

Tel: (+44) 01495 753561 Lines open 9am-5pm

Canada £48 for 12 issues.

Mon to Fri with answerphone.

Rest of World £82 for 12 issues.

Living Word digital magazine is available free

Go to our Living Word page for more

details.

of charge. Print copies also available at cost price from: www.biblestudiesoline.org.uk 23