Living Word Magazine September 2012

Living Word Magazine

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!

(2 Corinthians 3:17) Going Deeper into God’s Word Issue 14 September 2012

Free Bible Studies from Reinhard Bonnke, Derek Williams, Arfon Lloyd Thomas, Mathew Bartlett, Edwin & Lillian Harvey & more!

BOOK OF THE MONTH: WE REVIEW ‘UNTO THE HILLS’ DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Bible Studies Online International

www.biblestudiesonline.co.uk FOR HE IS YOUR LORD – WORSHIP HIM PSALM 45:11 ©Photos above Marafilm CoverDanilo Ascione photo Back cover Peter Saharov

In this month’s issue: 2.

God’s Faithfulness

3.

Rebuilding the Walls Part 6

5

Pentecost Realized

7.

Think Organically

8.

Beauty of Delayed Answers

9.

The Prophecy of Amos Chapter 5

13.

Guest Article: The Holy Spirit

15.

The King of Glory

Derek Williams (UK)

17.

The Living Church

Mathew Bartlett (UK)

19.

The Prophet of the Reformation (4)

20.

Book of the Month: ‘Unto the Hills’ by Dr. Billy Graham

21.

In Depth Study – Revelation Chapter 19

Lewis Armstrong (USA) Arfon Lloyd Thomas (UK) Mathew Bartlett (UK) Ken Legg (Australia AG) Edwin & Lillian Harvey (USA) Mathew Bartlett (UK) Reinhard Bonnke (CfaN)

Derek Williams (UK)

Derek Williams (UK)

©Photos Above © Photoquest. Cover: © Kmitu Left © from top: Peter Elvidge, CfaN,Paul Prescott, Photofit, JGroup. Back Cover: Eugene Ivanov.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Deuteronomy 7:9 How is God a faithful God? ________________________

Reader’s Article- God’s Faithfulness

By Lewis Armstrong USA – FILL IN THE ANSWERS

Deuteronomy 7:9 How is God a faithful God? _________________________________

Psalm 92:2 What is faithfulness connected with here?

Lamentations 3:23 How great is God's faithfulness?

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Psalm 36:5 How does God's faithfulness reach the heavens?

Psalm 98:3 How was God's faithfulness important to Israel?

_________________________________

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Romans 3:3 Explain how God's faithful will not be without effect? _________________________________

Psalm 37:3 How does one feed on God's faithfulness? _________________________________

Psalm 89:1 Why would we want to make known the faithfulness of God? _________________________________

Psalm 119:75 What did God's faithfulness impact David? _________________________________

Psalm 119:90 How long does God's faithfulness last? _________________________________

I Corinthians 1:9 How did His righteousness impact us? _________________________________

I Corinthians 10:13 How is God faithful? _________________________________

Psalm 89:5 How is God's faithfulness expressed?

Psalm 143:1 How can God's faithfulness answer us?

_________________________________

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I Thessalonians 5:24 What happens because of God's faithfulness? _________________________________

Psalm 89:8 How would you express God's Faithfulness?

Isaiah 25:1 How long had God's faithfulness been with His people?

_________________________________

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Psalm 89:24 What was with him?

1. _________________________________

II Thessalonians 3:3 How does the Lord establish and guard? _________________________________

Hosea 2:20 How can God's faithfulness betroth us? _________________________________

2. _________________________________

Hebrews 10:23, 36-37 What has God promised? _________________________________ :

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RESPONSE TO THE WORD NEHEMIAH chapter 8 verses 1-18

By Arfon Lloyd Thomas Photo © Paul Prescott The seventh chapter gave us a full list of all the people that returned to Jerusalem from exile. Once again in chapter 8 we discover Nehemiah calling all the people together to meet in front of the Water Gate.

This is in itself interesting, because water for washing is a picture of the Word of God (John 15:3), whereas water for drinking is a picture of the Spirit of God (John 7:37). Thus it is very refreshing when we allow the Word to work through us.

Nehemiah assembled the people so that they could hear God’s Word being read aloud. What a wonderful picture we have here in chapter 8.

As soon as Ezra the Priest opened up the Law Book and began to read, all those who were assembled there stood up and lifted their voices with a loud Amen. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord God with their faces to the ground. Would it not be wonderful if God’s Word brought such a response today?

The French author Victor Hugo once wrote, “England has two books. The Bible and Shakespeare.” How we

wish this were still true! England may have made Shakespeare, but it was the Bible that made England.

When the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in America they opened the Bible in the same reverence.

Now whether the Bible has the same effect on any Nation today is unsure. But one thing is certain here – the Word of God made the Nation of Israel. They are without doubt the people of the Book as no other nation has ever been.

I believe the Church today needs to take a good look at God’s Word and follow Israel’s example. Whenever the Church gets away from reading and studying the living Word the nation suffers and the blessing from God is lost.

The Psalmist reminds us that if we want to be like a fruitful tree then we must delight in God’s Word (Psalm 1: 2-3).

A true comprehension of the Word is so important – that is why Ezra was asked to read and teach. The material needs of the City had now been met, the walls were in a stable 3

condition, so it was now time to focus on the spiritual needs of the people. Perhaps we should note that this chapter instructs the people in the importance of confession.

What happened in Jerusalem from that point on was a by-product of the response to the Word of God. The primary task of the Church has not changed since Christ first began His good work. His message was that the Kingdom of God was near and that we must confess our sins, repent and be born again. The primary calling of every anointed pastor and preacher is to preach the Word in the power of the Spirit. For only then will it have a lasting effect upon the Nation.

History clearly reveals to us that whenever the preaching of the Word has declined then the Church and Nation suffers and falls into moral decay. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to cleanse and revive hearts of those who are called by His Name. I believe that if God is to work in us and through us then we must first respond

positively to the Living Word of instruction.

The Bible is not a “magic book” that changes people or circumstances.

God’s Word must be understood before it can enter into the heart and release its life changing power.

We recall the parable of the sower that Jesus told. “A sower went out to sow etc.” The emphasis being on understanding and receiving the Word of God; it must be planted in understanding hearts before it can bear forth any fruit.

Ezra explained the reading as he went along and as I am sure we are all aware, the truths of the Scripture fly like arrows into the heart. John records, “The Spirit will convict the World of guilt in regard to sin, and righteousness and judgement in regard of sin.” (John 16:8-9) Thus the Word explained will produce a deep conviction and it’s this divine act of power that brings the greatest sinner to their knees.

Now there is nothing wrong with emotion – in fact it’s good for us to weep before the Lord whenever we are convicted by the Spirit, because joy will follow on.

Nehemiah encouraged the people to spend valuable time together in sharing food and fellowship and reminded them that “The joy of the Lord is their strength.”

Now the people were expectant and the Spirit of God moved through the Word and touched their emotions.

But it did not end there. The people desired to know and do the will of God. They immediately put into action what they had neglected and

showed their willingness to submit to the Word. They even asked Ezra to hold daily Bible Studies which of course was a sign of spiritual hunger. Is it no wonder that revival was in the air and reconciliation began to take place?

Christian Counsellor’s Companion from Ken Legg.

Prayer: Dear God, help us as Your people to put the Bible back in it’s proper place. Forgive us that we have allowed it to be displaced by other things!!! May Your Holy Spirit be at work in our hearts and may he affect our emotions and our will.

We do not want to just feel good, but be good and obey You in all we do. Please teach us and challenge us now and in the future. Amen.

Building the Walls Worldwide Pastor Arfon Lloyd Thomas is an experienced minister with the Baptist church in the UK and is willing and available to conduct short term mission trips and revival schools both in Great Britain and overseas.

If you would like to invite Pastor Arfon Lloyd Thomas to your church or conference anywhere in the world, we would be pleased to hear from you.

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Series: The Acts of the Holy Spirit Chapter 2: Pentecost Realized

By Mathew Bartlett Photo: © Mathew Bartlett

Personal Empowerment The 120 in the Upper Room received a personal Pentecost.

The confirming signs (wind & fire) came to them all, yet they were all filled individually as well as collectively.

The Holy Spirit is available to all, but is personally received. With receiving came another accompanying sign – that of tongues. Notice they didn’t speak to men but to God of His works. The sound drew a crowd, the sign left them bewildered (recognising but not understanding sign) but the sermon left them convicted and led to many being converted.

Is there anything the church needs more at this time in history than to rediscover the power of a personal Pentecost? These early Christians were to bear witness to the whokle world for the Lord Jesus and could only do so by the power of his Spirit.

We too are to bear witness to Christ, and as we prepare for outreach to our own towns we must again emphasise the need for us all

to be filled and empowered – we all need a personal Pentecost!

I wonder what would have happened if only Peter had been filled with the Holy Spirit? You might have had the same message but you would not have had the same power!

Powerful Announcement

Peter sets out in his sermon – making it one of the exemplary sermons in the New Testament.

There is nothing random about his preaching; nothing is muddled or confused. Peter wants his audience to be in no doubt at all about what he is saying and so he makes his message crystal clear.

Studied Preaching Since I will cover Joel’s prophecy in details in a future study, we will focus for now on Peter’s Preaching.

Here is Pentecostal preaching at its best. It was powerful and fearless.

Yet it was:

Structured Preaching Peters seemingly unprepared announcement to the crowd had actually been well thought through.

It is logical in its progression of thought from one point to another.

It has an introduction, a clear structure and a conclusion which also serves to apply the message to his hearers. Although Peter does not use headings, as some do, (which can be helpful) notice how easy it is to follow the logical arguments that 5

Peter had studied his message – it was not left to chance. Off-the-cuff it was, and inspired by the Spirit, too, yet Peter had spent time before hand thinking about what the people needed to know. He had learned this message from Jesus Himself, the greatest teacher of all and so Peter knew his subject well.

Preachers must beware if they try and preach on a subject which they have not mastered - your congregation will realsie that you don’t know what you’re talking about! The people of God know whether the preacher knows his subject and therefore has something to impart to them.

Scriptural Preaching

Simple Preaching

In this brief message the Old Testament is unpacked line by line as Peter shows how the promises of God concerning salvation in Christ are fulfilled in Jesus. All preaching should be scriptural preaching. The Word of God says ‘Preach the Word’.

There was nothing unnecessarily complicated about Peter’s preaching. He was a simple man and he used simple straightforward words. Stephen Olford once told of his Bible school teacher who said of any part of his teaching which was incomprehensible to the youngest person in his congregation – ‘scrap it – it’s unsound’. The kingdom of heaven belongs to children like these said Jesus. His message is accessible to toddlers, and grandmothers; to teenagers and to drug addicts; to the illiterate to doctors; to prostitutes and to professors.

Searching Preaching If our preaching is studied preaching and scriptural preaching then it will be searching preaching. The conviction cut them to the heart and they cried out what shall we do?

God’s Word was the tool employed by the Spirit to search out these men’s hearts.

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life (Proverbs 6:23).

Sprit-filled Preaching How was it that Peter could now stand up to announce God’s way of salvation to a hostile crowd that only 50 days earlier had crucified the Son of God? It was the anointing and enabling of the Spirit. When we know that what we have to say is the truth of God, as the Spirit has enabled us to receive it, then we will be utterly undaunted by the opposition of unbelief or hostility.

We need the power of the Spirit to be enabled to proclaim the gospel in our contemporary culture with all its present challenges.

Successful Preaching The main reason why so much of modern preaching fails to deliver a result is that it lacks a definite aim.

Or, worse, the preacher attempts to achieve more than one thing at a time! Peter’s preaching had a definite aim, it was a soul aim, in that his one sole aim was the salvation of souls. As a consequence it achieved a demonstrable result.

3,000 souls only a tiny fraction of the crowd who had gathered to hear him, but nevertheless a significant inroad into the worldwide population of the Jews which was later to be built on substantially.

A Potent Achievement Conviction – Conversion – Commitment

They cried out ‘what shall we do?’ – this was conviction. They were responsible for death and rejection of Christ, and they knew it. As a result of Peter’s preaching they 6

acknowledged their sin and sought for a way out – a way of pardon and forgiveness, of being made right with God – the very way that Christ had made for them through his death.

Conversion. Those who believed his word were baptised.

Many preachers today actually don’t understand conversion. If you want to see conversion in your ministry first understand what it is. It involves conviction, repentance, faith, confession and commitment.

Having been saved their allegiance was now to Christ and his people, and this allegiance resulted in true commitment. We see them meeting together for fellowship – prayer – breaking of bread- -Bible study – no wonder the church grew! Their commitment was to Christ and to each other. Many Chrisitians today are trying to achieve one thing without the other – they think they can be committed to Christ but they are not concerned about their relationship with His people. Let me tell you this cannot be. Our devotion to the Lord can only be demonstrated by our devotion to His own.

Conclusion Our personal Pentecost should lead to powerful and dynamic Christian service. The power God has given us is not for personal blessing – but powerful witnessing. A true Pentecost is evidenced by commitment in Christian service and devotion in Christian love.

are placed in the right environment.

In an organisation the leadership Think Organically, Not Pragmatically Peter says we are to, “Grow in the control the people. In an organism

By Ken Legg. An extract from Grace Roots #80 the leadership empower the people.

grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet.3:18).

A Christian may be stunted in their growth for years. But place them in an environment of grace where Jesus is constantly being unveiled through the Word, and then watch them grow!

Image: © Ginosphotos

The Church is a living organism. It is not something that was brought into being by the planning and strategy of man. Neither does it grow by carnal ambition or program-driven activity. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how” (Mark 4:26-27 – emphasis mine).

Whilst God uses us to sow and water the seed of the Word, yet it is He who gives the increase. Only God can impart spiritual life. Jesus said the wind blows where it chooses.

We hear its sound, we know which direction it is blowing from, but we cannot determine when and how it will blow. So it is with those who are born again. It is the work of the Spirit.

And spiritual growth is not something that can be manufactured or manipulated.

People do no t grow because we tell them to or because we get them hyped into a frenzy. They grow because they have life. There’s nothing more natural than growth.

Growth is only an expansion of the life we already possess. Just like plant life, people grow when they

We can easily forget that the Church is a living organism and when we do we tend to operate pragmatically.

We think we have to do things to make the Church grow. When this happens, in a subtle way, the living organism becomes an institutional organisation.

What’s the difference between the Church as an organism and the Church as an organisation? Here are some distinctions: As an organisation the Church is an institution governed by the appointed board. As an organism the Church is the Body of Christ directed by Jesus the living Head.

As an organisation the system determines the way we will function. As an organism our spiritual gifts determine the way we will function.

In the Church as an organisation, growth may be measured in terms of numerical increase and facility expansion. In the Church as an organism, growth is measured by conformity to the image of Christ.

The power of the Church as an organisation is in the rules of the system. The power of the Church as an organism is the life of the Spirit.

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The Church as an organisation encourages co-dependency. The Church as an organism encourages Christ-dependency.

In the Church as an organisation the leader is the anointed superstar. In the Church as an organism, there are no superstars, but everyone is anointed.

The people are responsible for building the Church as an organisation. Christ builds the Church as an organism.

In the Church as an organisation, success is measured by results. In the Church as an organism, success is measured by obedience.

I am certainly not suggesting that every local church is like the organisation model, or that your church is; but I am sure that this is what Jesus encountered at the selfmade church in Laodicea. He said to them, “...you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev.3:17). This church had everything – except Jesus. He was on the outside, knocking at the door! The Head was detached from the body! Someone once said that if the Holy Spirit was taken from the Church, 80% of it would carry on as normal.

When we were first saved it was all about Jesus. If you have made it all about the organisation, and you are weary of empty, hollow activity, He is standing at the door of your heart today. He wants to come in and make it all about a relationship with Him. The door handle is on our side.

Your call.

Beauty of Delayed Answers An extract from “Kneeling we Triumph” by Edwin & Lillian Harvey ISBN 1-932774-08-4. 128 Pages Price $6.00. Image © Margaret M. Stewart Reproduced by kind permission of Harvey Publishers. www.harveycp.com

Photo © Keeweeboy

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Matt. 7:11).

My prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me (Psa. 69:13).

Prayers are commonly divided into two classes—those which are conformable to the will of God and those which are not. The Psalmist would suggest a third class belonging to neither the one nor the other. He says there may be prayers which are not conformable to the will of God today, but which will be tomorrow. There is, according to him, an acceptable time for the answering of certain prayers. He does not mean that there is an acceptable time for praying. The Heavenly Father appreciates prayer whether He can respond to it or not.

The limitation is not to our petitions, but to God’s answers. We often ask things which are in accordance with God’s will, but for which we are not ready.

A young child asks his father for a knife. Now, that is a possession within the rights of a human being.

It is a possession which one day will be of great use to the petitioner for the cutting of knots which cannot be untied. But today it will cut not the string but the finger. I am quite sure that the father will for the present refuse the prayer; he will lay up the desired gift in a safe treasury, awaiting the time when its possession will cease to be a danger.

It has been asked at a season which is not acceptable.

Even so, there are special seasons for the gifts of the Heavenly Father.

Many a man asks in April a gift of Divine fruit that will only be ripe in June.

Take the case of Paul.

Immediately after his conversion he prayed for a mission, “Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?”

He was answered by being sent into the solitudes of Arabia. Was the gratification of his prayer denied, then? No, it was postponed. He had asked at an unacceptable time.

He had desired for April the fruits of June. He was not ready for a mission. The light from Heaven had overheated him. He needed to be cooled down ere he could deal with the practical wants of men.

Accordingly, God prepared for him a place in the wilderness where he could rest and ponder. The mission was coming, but it was coming with the developed years; it was hid in the bosom of the Father till the acceptable time.

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My Father, help me to learn that I am heir to possessions which exceed my present holding! They exceed my present power to hold— they are waiting for my summer. Do I ever thank Thee for the blessings which Thou postponest? I am afraid not. I am like the prodigal: I want to get all at once the portion that falleth to me; and, where it is not given, I deem it is refused. Teach me, O Lord, the beauty of Thy delayed answers.

—George Matheson.

In the moment of its crying came no answer to my heart, But, long-deferred, it came with blessing in a quiet place apart.

Seldom in the midst of toiling do we reap our recompense.

It may come when hands are folded in a sunset hour long hence.

Not in thunderous crash of earthquake, not in whirlwind or in fire; Not in voice of sounding trumpet does God speak our deep desire.

But with strife and fretting over— Waiting—all serene and still, We may hear the whispered message teaching us His perfect will.

When we school our hearts to patience, God reveals His better way.

Proving oft that His tomorrow is far better than today.

—Kathryn Blackburn Peck.

The Prophecy of Amos – A Warning for Today

of Israel, once God's own peculiar treasure, intended to be His alone (as a "maiden" or "virgin daughter" should keep herself for her husband alone). Yet Israel had gone after other gods and so God would remove His protection from her that she might be utterly destroyed and never rise again. Since it was God Himself who handed her over to her enemies, who could help her? Being forsaken by her Maker, no one could raise her up.

"No one to raise her up" should be understood in context. It did not mean the complete annihilation of all the people, as the next verse clearly shows.

Neither did it mean that Israel would never be a nation again. It paints, however, a vivid picture of the absolute devastation that would come to the nation as a result of war with Assyria.

The nation of that time would never recover from this war.

Another extract from our best- selling book.

Amos 5:1 - 27. A Lament for the Nation.

In this chapter, God reveals His people's sin and warns them of its consequences, before making known the remedy and revealing the blessings which would come as a result of applying it.

A Lament for the Nation. v 1 - 4.

1,2. Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: Fallen, no more to rise, is maiden Israel; forsaken on her land, with no one to raise her up.

Having spoken in chapter four of the judgment soon to come on the land, God proceeds to take up a lament. A lament was a song of mourning - a funeral dirge for someone who had died. Who was dead? It was the nation

3. For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that marched out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which marched out a hundred shall have ten left.

The LORD predicts that only a tenth of the present population would survive the coming holocaust.

Through this lament we see that the judgment of God is always accompanied by deep sorrow. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and is not willing for any to perish. He would have all to be saved by responding in repentance and faith to His word. But although God had done all in His power to avoid this tragedy, but the nation was still not willing to repent. (Compare Luke 19:41 - 44).

4. For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: Seek me and live; At the same time that God spoke to warn Israel of impending judgment, He gave them another opportunity to 9

repent. The root of all Israel's' sin was that she had forsaken God. The only remedy therefore was to repent and seek God. (Isaiah 55:6,7). The Bible promises eternal life to those who seek God (Romans 2:7) since to know God is to have eternal life. (John 17:3). Before we can know God we must first seek Him and if we do so by searching His word with honest hearts we shall discover first of all that we are sinners, separated from Him by our wicked deeds and unable for this reason to enter heaven. Then we shall find that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. We shall learn that all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ receive eternal life. Only once we have received Christ as our Saviour can we truly say that we know God (or as Paul puts it in Galatians 4:9 - we are "known to God"), because we have become His children.

(John 1:12). Thereafter, we are to continue to seek God as the source and satisfaction of our lives.

Seek God in Truth. v 5 - 13.

5. but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing.

Having urged the people to seek God, the prophet warns them not to seek Him at the centres of idolatrous worship. God has already expressed His judgment on these places. Perhaps a play on words is intended here. Gilgal means "rolled away" and it shall be rolled away - into captivity in Assyria and so will Bethel (the house of God) become "nothing" or "Beth Aven" (lit. the house of emptiness, that is, desolate).

The warning is applicable today. Those who seek for God must look for Him in the right place. Our worship of God must be according to the revealed truth

of His Word. (John 4:24). Sadly, many today are turning to crystals, horoscopes, the occult, Feng Shui, etc. because they are seeking for spiritual reality, truth and life. Unfortunately, they shall find neither life nor reality in any of these things, but only death, for all these routes lead to eternal damnation. Only Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and only through Him can we know God. (John 14:6).

6. Seek the LORD and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.

We must seek the Lord Himself if we are to enjoy eternal, spiritual and abundant life. (John 10:10). Amos warned Israel that if she failed to do so then God's judgment would destroy the nation, rather like fire destroys the chaff which is burned after harvest because it is useless. The phrase "with no one to quench it" reveals that the wrath of God cannot be turned away from those who are impenitent. If God had found even ten penitent souls in Bethel, then He may have mitigated the disaster for the sake of those ten, (see Genesis 18:20 32) but there was no one. In the New Testament, Jesus warned the impenitent of eternal judgment. In hell, Jesus said, the fire would never be put out, meaning that the punishment of the lost soul would never end. (Mark 9:44).

7. Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground!

As terrible as God's judgments are, they are always right and fair. The people of Israel, however, had abandoned fairness so that justice did not prevail in their law courts. In vivid language Amos describes the nation's justice as being dead and buried ("to the ground", that is, buried in the ground). The weak or poor were oppressed by the rich and

influential. Someone has paraphrased the verse, "Justice was turned in to a bitter pill. Righteousness and fair play became meaningless fictions." (anonymous quote, cited by Beeley).

Today, whenever courts deny justice or place the rights of an offender above the rights of the victim; or whenever governments and courts overlook the commandments of God in favour of humanist regulations, misleadingly called "human rights" (see Matthew 15:9) we ought not be surprised to learn that the same judgment of eternal fire (mentioned in verse 6) is reserved for them.

8. The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name, The people who had sunk to the worship of the so called "star deities" are called upon to seek the One who made the stars. How different God is to idols! He is the Lord of Creation, bringing light and darkness and rain. He had made himself known to Israel by His name "the LORD", the self-existent and 10

sovereign God. (See also chapter 9 verse 6).

9. who makes destruction flash out against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress.

As God is sovereign in creation so He is also in the affairs of men. It is not the might of armies but God who decides the outcome of a battle and so directs the course of history. He gives strength to the weak and enables them to destroy their oppressors. God would demonstrate that it is He, not the star deities, who directs the steps of men, as Beeley says "The heathen thought of the stars directing the course of history, but it is He (God) who made the stars who does so."

10. They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.

Those who love evil live in darkness and hate the light. Whatever reproves and convinces of sin is light. (Ephesians 5:13). That is why the Israelites, who loved sin, hated all who spoke out against it. It was for the very same reason that they hated, rejected and crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 7:7).

11. Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

The rich were oppressing the poor by an unfair system of taxation. The poor were burdened with taxes whilst the rich feathered their own nests. For this reason God would snatch away the illgotten gains of the rich. The houses they had built and the vineyards they had bought with the proceeds of their extortion would no longer be theirs to occupy or enjoy. Š Image: Igorfp

Today, any nation that ignores the Divine principles of social justice will find that its prosperity will only be short lived.

12. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins--you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate.

Those who dwell in darkness like to think that God cannot see them, and that He is not aware of their evil deeds.

But God sees and knows all things.

(Psalm 94:7 - 9). He saw the many ways in which Israel had broken His laws and how very great their guilt was ("your mighty sins"). The just and the poor were their favourite targets, probably because they offered no retaliation.

Officials accepted bribes to pervert the course of justice, with the highest bidder getting the result they wanted in a court case. Note: The gate of the town/city was where the elders (magistrates) gathered during the day it served as a court where anyone could bring a dispute to be settled.

13. Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time.

Those who were wise kept silent at such a time - since they knew that whatever they said would not alter the situation but would only serve to make themselves a target. It does not always seem right to stay silent about moral issues, but here the Lord Himself declares that there are times when it is prudent.

A Promise for the Repentant 14-15.

14,15. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be

that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

God always warns mankind of His judgments so that man has time to take action and repent. If the people chose God's way, by seeking good not evil, and giving justice in their law courts then: i. God would be with them as a nation as they were vainly boasting that He was. ii. They would live. (In context, this promise is to the whole nation, but the principle applies to each individual). iii. Judgment would be avoided and the Lord would be gracious to those who were left in Israel. (The word "Joseph" was sometimes used as a reference to the northern kingdom of Israel).

God bestows blessings on repentant hearts, but that does imply that God's blessings are earned, for as Beeley says "forgiveness is always a privilege not a right...men are commanded to repent this is their duty as moral creatures but even then forgiveness is still an act of grace. Men are forgiven when they repent, not because they repent."

The Day of the Lord. 16 - 20.

16. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: In all the squares there shall be wailing; and in all the streets they shall say, "Alas! alas!" They shall call the farmers to mourning, and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing; God had given His promise to bless and forgive the repentant, but since the people adamantly refused to repent, the rebellion of the nation would bring swift judgment - the invasion of the Assyrian army would bring death, destruction and mourning to the whole land.

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17. in all the vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of you, says the LORD. These shattering events would not happen by chance. God says "I will pass through you". The Assyrians were merely God's weapon, His instrument of punishment, by which He would judge Israel. The phrase "pass through" stands in deliberate contrast with the more familiar "pass over". On the night that the death angel brought judgment to the Egyptians, Israel was spared, for God passed over them. But now, God would pass through them, bringing destruction and grief at the hands of the Assyrian army. Since vineyards are symbols of fruitfulness and joy, their literal destruction is also a symbol of the nation's joy being turned into grief.

18. Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light; The people had deceived themselves, misunderstanding what was meant by the idea of, "The Day of the Lord". Many prophets had spoken of it. The people knew that it would be a day when God Himself would visit them. The term can in fact be used to mean any occasion when God will act, reveal Himself and meet in person with His people. Israel welcomed this. Since they were the chosen people of God, the descendants of Abraham, they presumed that when God visited them it would be to bless, prosper them and to rescue them from their enemies.

God makes clear, however, that when He does visit them, it will be to enter into judgment with them. Although they were not concerned about their sin, God was. He would teach His covenant people that He is holy and too pure to look at sin. Whilst it is true that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, it is also true that God must and

will punish the ungodly. (Ezekiel 33:11; Jude 1:15; 2 Peter 2:9) 19. as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake.

The prophet vividly describes God meeting with Israel in fierce wrath.

There would be no escape. The Divine sentence had been pronounced: that day would spell doom for unrepentant Israel.

20. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

Ray Beeley says, "Darkness here is used as a symbol for terror and doom. There will be no shadow of hope for the ungodly in that day." The same may be said concerning the day when God will judge those who have not received His Son the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. It will be a day of darkness and no light. It will be a day of judgment and no mercy. It will be the day when those who have rejected Christ will enter damnation eternally with no hope of ever escaping. (Revelation 14:9 - 11 ; Mark 9:44).

Sincerity in Worship. v21 - 24.

21. I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.

If there is one thing that God hates more than anything else it is hypocrisy.

The people of Israel were not living in a way that honoured the Lord: they had broken His laws, treated others unfairly and oppressed the poor and yet they turned up for worship at the "House of God". They observed solemn feast days, but their religious meetings were offensive to God. 22. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not

accept them; and the offerings of wellbeing of your fatted animals I will not look upon.

Even when the people made offerings and sacrifices to God, they were not accepted, for their hearts, motives and lives were not right in His sight.

23. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps.

Their singing and playing instruments of praise and worship did not gain them an audience in heaven either - God could not even bear to hear it. It was not acceptable to Him, He would rather they shut up. (Malachi 1:10).

As Christians we would do well to bear in mind what God said to His ancient people. It is possible to come to church and go through the motions of singing and praising God without our worship coming from a pure heart that is wholly devoted to the Lord and willing to obey Him. The hypocrisy of religious service without sincerity and obedience is what Christ denounced the Pharisees for.

(Matthew 15:7 - 9).

24. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Israel made the mistake of thinking they could worship God without living by His righteous laws. We too must beware of thinking we can ignore God's standards.

(Romans 6:1 - 2). God wants our religion to be expressed in right relationships and right conduct. Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in Spirit and truth. The work of the Spirit is to produce the life of Christ in us, and Jesus always obeyed and did the will of His Father. In this way, righteousness is like an ever-flowing stream, since, "Those who do the will of God, live forever". (1 John 2:17).

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The Sin of Idolatry. v 25 - 27.

25,26,27. Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

To make matters far worse, whilst Israel professed to be worshipping God, they are actually bowing down to idols. This was perhaps the most serious sin of all, since it was deliberate rejection of the Lord. Mixing the worship of God with that of idols was in direct disobedience to the Second Commandment. (Exodus 20:4 - 5).

Today, Christians must be careful not to mix what is holy with what is unholy. (1 Corinthians 10:21). To have "one foot in the world and another foot in the church" is to be in a precarious position indeed. For all its evil deeds the world is to be judged, and so the commandment of God to His people today is : "Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, (2 Corinthians 6:17).

During their forty years of desert wanderings, Israel had worshipped the idols named here, fashioned by their own hands in honour of the pagan star deities and tragically the heart of the nation had not changed. "The God of hosts" had made the stars and it was He who brought Israel out of Egypt and made them a nation. He alone had the right to their devotion and worship.

Because of their unfaithfulness, God would punish the nation by sending them far away. They would be taken and resettled by the Assyrians "beyond Damascus", that is further afield than Damascus (which itself was 130 miles north of Jerusalem).

The Holy Spirit – Bible Study Part 1

by Reinhard Bonnke © SfaN

"Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Romans 8:14 These were the last recorded words of Jesus Christ to his disciples before he ascended into heaven at the end of his three years of earthly ministry: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 It is important to note that Jesus spoke of both Holy Spirit anointing and evangelism. It was not an either/or situation. His disciples were to receive power and to be witnesses. His last instructions to his followers had a two-fold meaning – he promised power and commissioned them for the tasks ahead.

There are various ways to describe the working of the Holy

Spirit in our lives. John the Baptist said that Christ would baptise us in the Holy Spirit.

“Baptise” has now become a purely religious term but originally it was a word used in commercial circles for dipping or soaking cloth in dye. The “baptised” material took on the nature of the element into which it was dipped; it absorbed its colour. The cloth was in the dye and the dye in the cloth. To be baptised in the Spirit means that we are in the Spirit and the Spirit in us; we take on the character of the Spirit. We do not need to work to attain this – and indeed cannot; it is what happens in baptism.

Absorbing the nature of the Spirit produces in us what Paul calls the “fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). This fruit develops in our character as we allow the Spirit to work in us.

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Be filled with the Spirit “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18 The Spirit comes to us himself.

We do not receive a small portion of him or need to be “topped up” from time to time.

The Bible never talks about “some” Holy Spirit or “more” Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, every single person received the Holy Spirit – not just a bit of him. We receive the Holy Spirit from Christ as the promise of the Father.

We may pray for others to be filled with the Spirit but we have no authority to give the Holy Spirit – it is a personal gift from God. Greek has a tense which is used to describe an ongoing, unending condition; this tense is used for the word “filled”, making the sense “be being filled with the Spirit”. It means that we are to

be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

The gifts of the Spirit “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant … There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.

There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord … All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:111 The gifts of the Spirit never designate natural talents, such as a gift for music or another art form. The gifts referred to in 1 Corinthians 12 are supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

The gifts differ from one person to another. Paul described the church as a body with many members; each member is unique but has a vital role in the function of the body. Although there may be a marked difference in the way various parts of the body function, each one is needed and none should be perceived as being more important than another.

That is what it is like with the gifts of the Spirit. One believer receives one gift, another believer a different gift. No one gift should be considered superior or inferior to another (1 Corinthians 12:14-31).

The

emphasis should not be on the gift, to avoid the gift becoming an idol. The recipient of the spiritual gift should not glory in his or her gift because the gift could easily become a stumbling block of pride.

God and is the ability to grasp something that is beyond human understanding and to know what should be done in a specific situation – to the glory of God. James 1:5 tells us that wisdom is available to all who ask for it.

Let us consider each of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:810.

The practical relevance of a word of wisdom is apparent in its timing and application. It is not necessarily a proclamation at a church service. It could quite simply be a part of a discussion during which the Holy Spirit prompts someone to reveal divine truth or insight.

Alternatively, it might be a revelation that occurs during a time of Bible study, prayer or meditation, when the Holy Spirit reveals Scripture that applies to specific circumstances. It has a practical purpose and may come in a fashion that seems neither miraculous nor overly religious.

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

The word of wisdom A word (i.e. message) of wisdom is supernatural wisdom, not something learned or acquired. It has its source in the wisdom of 14

Reinhard Bonnke, Evangelist http://us.cfan.org/?lang=en-US

Article reproduced with the kind permission of Christ for all Nations.

If you enjoyed this article, why not consider making a donation to CfaN? You may do so following this link: donate to CfaN

The King of Glory A Study of Psalm 24 by Derek Williams Images: Š JGroup, Overleaf: In.Light

It is generally accepted that David wrote this Psalm on the occasion when the ark of the covenant was being brought from the house of Obed-Edom to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6: 11-16). It is clear from the last four verses however that this was a prophetic Psalm concerning the victorious entry of the King of Kings when He ascended back to His Father (Acts 1: 9). In the first two verses the psalmist makes it clear that all things were created by God and therefore He and He alone is the Divine possessor of them.

1. Divine Ownership 1 - 2.

24.1 The LORD owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it.

The earth - that is the very ground that we walk on, that produces the food we eat, the air that we breathe and all living creatures for he says the fullness (Psalm 50: 10).

The world - that is the nations and everyone that inhabits them (Eze. 18: 4). In fact Revelation 4:11 we are told that everything was created by and for the pleasure of the beloved Son, Jesus Christ (see also Eph. 3: 9).

24.2 For he set its foundation upon the seas, and established it upon the ocean currents.

Here we have a direct reference to the creation when God caused the dry land to appear out of the waters (Genesis 1: 9-10). (John Diodati says upon the seas that is upon the great abyss of waters which is under the earth, enclosed in great hallow places -- whence the heads of, rivers do spring and other bubble out upon the earth) In other words the foundations of the earth are laid upon the waters. The earth, the mountains rise above the floods and God has set a boundary for the seas, so far and no further (Prov. 8: 29).

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2. The Righteous One 3 - 6.

24.3 Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place?

Having established that we are not our own and that everything that we have and all that is around us does not belong to us but to 'The Lord The God Almighty the psalmist asks two questions, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord"?

This hill is Mount Zion where the temple was built which is a type of the true hill of God that is heaven God's dwelling place.

Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? The holy place was the Holy of Holies where no man could enter except the High Priest and not without the shedding of blood. This was a type of the very throne of God, entering into His most Holy presence.

24.4 The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure, who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them.

He answers the questions for us in this verse. He who has clean hands, this refers to the whole body and means he who has not used, or rather misused his body for sinful purposes. Who is pure in heart - in whom there is no evil intentions.

The one who has not given himself over to idol worship and who worships God only. John Trapp says, "the one who does not lie under oath or uses his tongue in communicating hell's rotten language to the dishonouring of God". There is only one who has ever fulfilled these conditions and that is the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53: 9, 2 Cor. 5: 21, Heb. 7:26, 1 Pet. 2: 22) All who believe and have received Him as their Lord and Saviour are clothed with His righteousness (Hebrews 10:14).

24.5 (NKJV) He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

All blessings come to us through the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph.1: 3).

It is Christ that is the righteous one and we are made righteous in Him (1 Cor.1: 30). It is therefore Jesus Christ who fulfils these two verses and it is through Him all believers are made clean, pure in heart and know the full value of their souls and are able to speak the language of heaven.

24.6 Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favour, Jacob's

descendants, who pray to him.

(Selah) When Christ is allowed to fully and truly live in the lives of His own then they will seek after God with all their heart. In past times of revival this is what has been characteristic of the church; for example in Wales the 1851 and 1904 revivals. We can pray to God that by His sovereign grace and mercy our generation of Christians will indeed seek to fulfil what Paul said "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" and become people who are sincerely seeking God with the whole heart.

3. The Victorious Christ 7 - 10.

24.7 (NKJV) Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.

After His sacrificial death upon the cross for the sins of the whole world Jesus Christ rose again from the dead and then ascended into heaven and is escorted by angels (Acts 1: 9 -11). As He entered heaven as the mighty victor the angels cried out for the gates of heaven to be opened for the Conquering Saviour to enter in with the spoils of war (Colossians 2:15).

24.8 Who is this majestic king? The LORD who is strong and mighty! The LORD who is mighty in battle!

The angels awaiting His return in heaven ask 'who is this King of Glory! The reply comes back the Lord Strong and mighty in battle. He who has conquered Satan, death hell and the grave(Revelation 1: 18) - who has brought deliverance to 16

those who are held captive by sin -He who has arisen with healing in His wings (Mal.4: 2).

24.9 Look up, you gates! Rise up, you eternal doors! Then the majestic king will enter!

The welcoming hosts cry again for the doors of heaven to he opened to Him that He might take His rightful place at the right of God and be exalted above all (Phil. 2: 9, Rev. 5: 12).

24.10 Who is this majestic king? The LORD who commands armies! He is the majestic king! (Selah) Again the awaiting angels ask who He is as if to bring out from the escorting angels every ounce of their adoration praise and exaltation. They reply this time as if lost for words "The Lord of Hosts" that is Jehovah Tsebaoth. Henry Ainsworth says "It signifies hosts or armies standing ready in martial order, and battle array, and all creatures in heaven and earth which are pressed to do the will of God".

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of Hosts for all power and authority has been given to Him in earth and heaven. He His our King of Glory who is in Glory ever living to intercede on our behalf who has the whole host of heaven at His command to minister to us whom He has redeemed by His own blood.

The Psalm ends with Selah. Be still in awesome wonder of Him who has been exalted far above all and has a name above all other names and know that He is God, our God and our Saviour! Amen

The Living Church

The Living Church

that

union

may

be

outwardly

(c) Peter Elvidge

The Communion of the Church

demonstrated in two main ways.

The church is a group of people who are called out ones, sanctified (saints or holy ones) called out of the world to be set apart for God. We are not a group like a bowling club but a spiritual fellowship.

Our union with Christ is evidenced in our baptism, which is the outward confession of an inward reality.

When we came to know Christ as Saviour, the old man died, and was buried with Him. This is the symbol of baptism as we go down into the water, it signifies our oneness with Christ in his death and burial, declaring that in our new life with Christ, old things have passed away.

Coming up out of the water is a course symbolic of the fact that by faith in Christ we have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life, for we are new creations in Christ, all things have become new.

You can’t join the church by filling in a membership card, but by union with Christ in his death and resurrection. Those who are joined with Christ in this way share his life, being born again, and having become children of God. The joint agents of our birth are the incorruptible seed of the word of God, and the Spirit of God. So we are joined with Christ to share one eternal destiny with Him (this is the meaning of the word 'predestined').

In the words of Ephesians, the church is one body and shares one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. (see Ephesians 4:4-6 NRSV) So our membership of the church is sealed by our union with Christ, and

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4 NKJV) Secondly, our union with Christ is evidenced in our communion, for here we rehearse the method by which the church was brought into existence, by which it continues to exist, and by which we have all 17

become part of that church.

Communion is a statement of how Christ died for our sins and is raised, and that by his saving action we are joined to him in eternal life. Every time we take communion we reaffirm our relationship with him.

In terms of its communion the church is describes as the bride of Christ.

This word emphasises the union of the body to Christ and her mutual love for her Lord. Christ's love for the church cannot be doubted. He loved her and gave himself for her (Eph. 5:25). Christ's possession of the church cannot be doubted that she might be his, redeem her (5:2627). The relationship between husband and wife is so closely bound by God himself that he describes them as being one flesh, yet those who are Christ's are one spirit with him, and that is an indivisible and indestructible unity.

Jesus said “In as much as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." The believer cannot be separated from his Lord. "He who receives you receives me." How grateful we are that "nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We belong to Him, being holy and set apart as his. In the scripture it is true that every believer is referred to as holy: ‘or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?’ (1 Cor. 6:19) and that the whole church of God corporately is described as holy: ‘do you not know that you are the temple of God and

that the Spirit of God dwells in you?’

(1 Cor. 3:16) He who maligns, or insults the church does these things to Christ, for we are one with him. He who touches the church touches Christ, for we are the apple of his eye.

The church's communion is an expression of our union with Christ, and this leads necessarily to our union with each other. And this requires commitment.

The Commitment of the Church What is the church's commitment?

It is a commitment to ministry.

The church of Jesus Christ is described as a body, with Christ as the head. Christ possess his church (indwells it) and expresses himself through it in the world.

All the life of God resides in the body of Christ, and yet all the life of God resides in every individual part of the body of Christ. Now each part of the body has a different function, for every part is different, but all these functions are worked in us by the same Holy Spirit. Thus diversity in the body is never division. There may be many different kinds of people in the church of Jesus Christ, but we are all born of God. There are many different ministries and administrations but all are the work of one and the self-same Spirit, with God as the master overseer, Christ the head of his church.

God's blessing flows over all his body so that what we do for God’s kingdom is important and valuable.

God's purpose through our ministry

is that believers might mature in faith, and become more like Jesus: ‘to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.’ (Ephesians 4:1213 NRSV) As a building the church is still under construction, but one day praise God it will be completed, for ‘being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;’ (Philippians 1:6 NKJV) If the church's commitment is to ministry, for it to be effective in ministry there must be a complete surrender to Christ's Lordship.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

(Romans 12:1 NKJV)

The Consummation Church.

of

the

If you had all resources, and if nothing was impossible to you, what kind of building would you make to dwell in for all eternity? What kind of comforts would it have? The church is destined to be the dwelling place of God throughout all eternity.

The glories of it cannot adequately be put into words.

Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah (Psalms 87:3 NKJV) 18

The Bible describes it as the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, that is, with a heavenly nature. It is described in terms of precious stones and gold, indicative of its spiritual glories, for the glorified church of Christ is possessed of the glory of God, for God dwells within her. If you can tell the glory of God then you can tell the glory of the church. God is her glory, dwelling in and with her forever.

Praise God that the building will soon be finished. When the temple was built at Jerusalem, there was to be no noise of work on the temple site. Building materials were to be prepared elsewhere and then transported to the site. There will be no further building work in heaven.

The building work goes on here.

When it is finished the church will be the showcase of God's glory and grace. To prepare us for that place God is working in us each day to change us into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ, that His church might be without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Jesus said I go to prepare a place there for you, so that we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye into his likeness and be forever with the Lord.

Conclusion The living church has a vital communion with her Lord and with each other. We have a commitment to serve Christ by our ministry to his body, and we look forward to a heavenly consummation, which will be the eternal state of the church - Rev. 21:11 "having the glory of God."

The Prophet of the Reformation The Book of Malachi Chapter Four: A brief Bible study by Derek Williams.

Photo: Š Photofit.

The Day of Judgment V1.

This leads up to a direct reference to the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20: 11- 15, 2 Pet. 3:7). The proud and wicked will be utterly consumed by fire as straw.

"That will leave them neither root nor branch" - that is utter destruction they will never rise up again.

The Portion of the Righteous V.2.

The "Sun of Righteousness" the Lord Jesus Christ will appear to those who revere the Name of God. He has come as the "Light of the World" to make known the righteousness of God and the darkness of sin (John 15:2) and to bring deliverance and salvation through His atoning death on the cross. "Arise, with healing in His wings" . The basic meaning of "arise" is to irradiate, shoot forth beams like sunbeams. This Christ did while on earth - He went about healing all manner of diseases (Luke 4: 40). This word "healing" is not confined to the physical but embraces the whole man, it means deliverance, soundness, wholesome etc. But the reference here is not only to His first coming but also to His second coming (Heb. 9: 28,Tit. 2:13).

The comparison to calves here is that they will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

V3. The only time that the righteous shall dominate the wicked on this earth is during the Millennium Reign when Christ shall give them power over the nations (Rev. 2: 26 - 27). The only time it can be said that the righteous shall trample the wicked as ashes under their feet is when they come with Christ as His army when He smites the nations (Rev.18: 14 -15).

The Final Word Until John the Baptist Comes V4. The final plea to Israel is that they should bring back to mind the law that God gave to Moses on Mount Horeb (Sinai Exod. 20: 3 - 21). They are to obey all its statutes (laws) and judgments (legal requirements).

All the prophets and the law were to be in force until John the Baptist (Math.

11:13). They then who were most faithful to the law, would be most prepared for Christ (Barnes). "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. 3:24).

V5. Before that awesome day of the coming of the LORD, the first advent of Christ, God would send His messenger who would come in the spirit and the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17) 19

The Jews were literally expecting Elijah to come before the Messiah so when John the Baptist came on the scene not only in the spirit and power of Elijah but also in his dress they asked him if he was the prophet. John rightly denied that he was not Elijah (John 1:21).

When the disciples ask the Lord Jesus Christ why Elijah must come first he confirmed that he had already come and they did not recognize him and they took Him to mean John the Baptist (Math. 17: 10 - 12). On an earlier occasion Jesus clearly stated that John was the forerunner spoken of in Malachi 3:1 (Math. 11: 13 - 14).

V6. The work of John the Baptist was to turn the hearts of people to repentance (Luke 1: 16 -17).

The Living Bible interprets this verse "His preaching will bring fathers and children together again, to be of one mind and heart" They will become of one mind and heart in Christ if they receive Him as their Saviour (Gal. 3:28).

If they did not repent then God said He would utterly destroy their land. When Christ came many Jews accepted Him as their Saviour but the nation as whole rejected Him (John 1: 11 - 13). Therefore the curse uttered by Malachi fell upon them as The Lord Jesus predicted it would (Luke 19: 43 - 44) This happened in AD 70 at the hand of Titus the Roman general.

It’s been some time since we came across a really good book of daily devotions – that is, a daily Bible verse followed by a brief exposition or devotional thought which is intended to help the spiritual life.

In the past we have read classics such as Spurgeon’s ‘Cheque Book to the Bank of Faith’ or Chambers’ ‘My Utmost for His Highest’; but now at long last we have found a more recent book that we feel we can recommend.

It is Dr. Billy Graham’s ‘Unto the Hills’ I’m using myself with my family every night, and I find it is simple enough for the uneducated family members to understand, short enough for my 3 year old to tolerate before bedtime, and yet it contains a depth of spiritual teaching which is enough to bless and minister to a more experienced pastor and Bible teacher like me.

With the kind permission of publisher Thomas Nelson, here is a brief extract: ‘Unto the Hills’ ISBN: 978-0-84994621-9 is available to purchase from Amazon

‘Unto the Hills’ by Dr. Billy Graham ‘When God said. “Come ye, buy . . . without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1), He was saying “Salvation is free!”

God puts no price tag on the Gift of gifts – it’s free! Preachers are not salesmen, for they have nothing to sell. They are the bearers of Good News – the good tidings that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3), and that the “grace of God . . . hath appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). Money can’t buy it. Man’s righteousness can’t earn it. Social prestige can’t help aquire it. Morality can’t purchase it. It is as Isaiah quotes: “Without money and without price.”

God does not bargain with us. We cannot barter with Him. We must do business with Him on His own terms. He holds in His omnipotent hand the priceless, precious, eternal gift of salvation, and He bids us to take it without money and without price. The best things in life are free, are they not? The air we breathe is not sold by the cubic foot. The water which flows crystal clear from the mountain stream is free for the taking.

Love is free; faith is free; hope is free. We can’t reject God’s grace on the ground that it is too cheap, for the most precious things in life come to us without money and without price. Only the cheap, tawdry things have a price tag on them. Salvation is free – but it is not cheap.’

Reprinted by permission. An extract from ‘Unto the Hills’ by Dr. Billy Graham, © 1997, Thomas Nelson Inc. Nashville Tennesee. All rights reserved.

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Our In Depth Study.

Revelation 19.

By Derek R. Williams. Photo © Godfer Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Triumph of the Kingly Bridegroom.

Heaven Rejoices over Babylon. v1 - 10.

1. "After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honour and power belong to the Lord our God!" In response to the call of Rev. 18:20 heaven is filled with rejoicing over the fall of Babylon. The multitudes in heaven join their voices as one to shout: "Hallelujah or 'praise the Lord'". This is the only place in the New Testament where the word "Hallelujah" is used.

The citizens of heaven rightly attribute their salvation to God alone, acknowledging all power, honour and glory to be His. 2. "For true and righteous are His judgements, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her."

God's judgements, His sentences on the wicked, are just. They are free from bias and no one can contend with them. God had accordingly judged Babylon because she had corrupted the earth with her adultery and idolatry. He repaid her for murdering His people (Rev. 6:10).

3. "Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!"

The final destruction of Babylon was so wonderful in the eyes of the redeemed that their voices rang out again with "Hallelujahs".

4. "And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, "Amen! Alleluia!"

For the last time the twenty-four elders are mentioned as representatives of the Church. They join the four living creatures in falling before the throne to worship God crying "Amen, Hallelujah!"

5. "Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"

The voice from the throne, not God's voice, calls all His servants and all who fear Him from the least to the greatest to give praise.

6. "And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"

These respond to the call with a loud acclamation sounding "like the waves of a hundred oceans crashing on the shore, or like the mighty rolling of great thunder." (Living Bible) Their cry was again "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord who reigns with absolute and universal sovereignty.

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. v7 10.

7, 8. "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, 21

for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."

The saints call each other to joyously celebrate and give glory to God. The reason for their great joy is that the wedding banquet of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ has come at last and His bride has made herself ready for Him. There are several references in Scripture to the Church being the bride and Christ the bridegroom. Jesus said it Himself in Mark 2:19, Matt. 9:15 and John 3:29.

Paul does so in 2 Cor. 11:2 and Eph. 5:25. In Revelation 21:2 & 9 - 10, the new Jerusalem is referred to as "the bride of the Lamb". It is those who have prepared and are ready for His coming that will be present at this supper. The parable of the ten virgins in Matt. 25:1 13 ends with the words: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming". The marriage supper of the Lamb is the celebration of the coming together of the Lord Jesus Christ with His people (bride) so that they shall never more part. It is by God's grace that believers can respond to the exhortation of His Word to be ready (1 John 3:2 - 3; Jude 1:21; 2 Pet. 3:10 - 11).

The fine purified garments representing the righteous acts of the saints are given to them by Christ as a gift.

9. "Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." Then John was commanded to write that that those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb are infinitely

blessed - a fact attested to by God himself.

10. "And I fell at his feet to worship him.

But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

John is overcome by a feeling of awe and falls down at the feet of the angel to worship him. The angel warns him not to do this, for he is only a servant of God, as was John and all the other believers who testify of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The King of Kings. v11 - 16.

These verses set the scene for the looming battle of Armageddon.

11. "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war."

As Heaven opens, a white horse appears. This war horse is symbolic of the victory about to be won. The one who sits on it is named "Faithful and True" and He alone is absolutely trustworthy. All His acts of judgement are morally right and He fights evil accordingly.

12. "His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself."

His flaming eyes tell the fierceness of His wrath against His enemies. The many diadems on His head reveal the total sovereignty and authority that He has in earth and Heaven. He had a name inscribed on these diadems that only He knew the meaning of (see Rev. 2:17).

Even though God is our Father, and Christ is our Saviour, no one can know God fully who is not God. Matt. 11:27.

13. "He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called 'The Word of God." His garment dipped in blood is a sign of the slaughter that is to follow (Isaiah

63:2 -3). The rider of the horse is "The Word of God", the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1 & 14).

14. "And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses."

The heavenly armies following the Lord are none other than the redeemed, for their garments are clean white linen (v8). They have no armour - Christ's righteousness is all the armour they need as they ride into battle.

15. "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." Only Christ has a weapon and that is His Word, coming from His mouth as a sharp sword (Rev. 1:16 ; 2 Thes. 2:8). By the Word that He speaks He shall strike the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron suggests that they will not willingly submit to Him, but will be made to do so. Christ Himself will crush His enemies under foot as the one God has appointed to judge and punish (Acts 17:31).

16. "And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: 'KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS'."

Written on His garment and on His thigh, the place where a soldier's sword would normally hang, is the title that has already been given to Him in Rev. 17:14. In that day it will be clear to all that Christ is the supreme sovereign.

The Battle of Armageddon. v17 - 21.

17, 18. "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."

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As Christ rode into battle, John saw an angel standing in the light of the sun where all the birds of prey could see him. With a great voice he calls them to gather together to the great feast of dead bodies that the Almighty God would set before them. For at this great battle people from all ranks of life will be gathered: kings, captains, soldiers and the common people, young and old.

All these will become food for the birds of prey.

19. "And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army."

The Anti-Christ with his confederates and their armies are gathered together by demons to fight against the Lord Jesus Christ and His army (Rev. 16:13 & 16).

20. "Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone."

The first to be taken are the Beast (AntiChrist) and the False Prophet who did mighty miracles in his presence. With these miracles he had deceived many and caused them to receive the mark of the Beast and worship the statue of him (Rev. 13:12 & 16). Both are thrown alive into the lake of fire, a living death "where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44).

21. "And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh."

The remainder of the assembled army were killed by the Word that came from the mouth of the Lord Jesus. They fell before Him as if they were pierced through with a sword. All the birds of prey filled their bellies with the flesh of the dead.

An excerpt taken from The Revelation of Jesus Christ by Derek Williams (paperback ÂŁ6.99) Out now for Kindle!

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