January 14, 2007
Scripture:
Scripture:
Ministry:
I’d like to look at two verses in John 19: “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe” (vv. 1 & 2). As we began this morning, we were reminded of the sufferings of the Lord and what it must have meant. As I read this, I remember what my wife tells me about her mother: on a Lord’s Day, she opened to John 19, intending to read it. But after reading those two verses, she stopped; it was enough. She was a nurse, and worked with wounds regularly, yet those verses overwhelmed her. There was a heart that was touched. That was just man exposing his true heart; then there was what God had to do. “Stricken, smitten, and afflicted …” It was one thing for a burly soldier to pick up a whip and do his job, but it was another thing for God to unsheathe His judgement and plunge it into his Son, stroke after stroke, until finally, God could say, “It is finished.” Well might we say, “What hath God wrought!” and may our hearts be touched in love for Him.
Read Luke 15:11–24. We know this story well. How precious to apply it to ourselves: we had sinned against heaven. Sin, which is disobedience, brought us far away from God. How precious to know that the prodigal came back. He knew where he could be fed, but he didn’t know the father’s love. He found that out when he ate not the bread he expected (v. 17), but the fatted calf (v. 23). Satan wants to rob us of all that we have, but we shouldn’t let him. Now read Jeremiah 15:16. If sin is disobedience, joy is obedience. Jeremiah obeyed and the Word was made his joy and rejoicing. In a struggle, when we have no joy, have we looked to the Word? Whether a chapter or verse, what does the Spirit have for us? It will bring communion and fill us, for both now and eternity.
EG Hymn 212 – Jesus loves me, this I know, Prayer • We have been looking at a few stories from the life of the Lord Jesus, usually including a boat. Last time, we saw how Jesus walked on the water; Peter asked to come out to Him, but he started to sink. We looked at Peter’s prayer: “Lord, save me!” and said that we can use it too. Today, our story is from John 21. Before we begin, I want to ask a question that we’ll look at later: Have you ever had breakfast with the Lord? John 21:1–14 • This story is after Jesus has died and risen. V. 1 tells us it is a story about how the disciples saw Jesus for the third time. They were waiting for Him near the Sea of Galilee, so Peter decided to go fishing, and the others went with Him. Peter had been a fisherman before meeting Jesus, but that night they didn’t catch anything. As morning came on, Jesus appeared on the shore, but they didn’t realize it was He. When He found out they had no fish, He told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. They did this, and came up with a multitude of fishes. Now they realized who it was that was on the shore. Peter threw on his coat and swam in, because it would take a while to bring in all those fish. Now, I asked if you had ever had breakfast with the Lord. Here, the disciples did. The Lord had made some fish and bread, and fed them. If the Lord fed us, how would he do it? He would do it through His word. In John 6:35, the Lord said, “I am the bread of life.” I heard a story about a little girl who received a Bible for her birthday; she was so happy, but she didn’t want to hurt it in any way, so she decided to put it on the shelf and just look at it. Her parents wondered how they could show her that the Bible was to read. So one night her mother made a beautiful dinner; everyone came and sat down, but after her father had given thanks, no one began to eat. The girl asked for some food; then her father said that since Mom had put so much effort into the dinner, they were just going to look at it that night. Then they told her that that was what she was doing with her Bible. So when we have breakfast with the Lord, we don’t actually eat, but read or listen to the Bible and memorize verses. For just a moment, let’s look at what Peter did: he went fishing, but didn’t catch anything until the Lord told him where to cast his nets. And not until we do what the Lord wants us to will we be happy.
Hebrews 13:1–25 • There is so much marvellous truth in Hebrews. It Is very characteristic in its presentation because it was written to Hebrews, not as an assembly, but as a group of individuals. As we go through it, we can see that some of those individuals were not saved. This is why we get a clear contrast between Judaism and Christianity. Priesthood and other Jewish rituals are brought out, and the “new and living way” is shown. All of it is very practical; it does not show us in Heavenly places, but rather in the wilderness, running a race, looking, as was Abraham, for a city whose builder and maker was God. So now we begin Hebrews 13 with “Let brotherly love continue.” Are there different kinds of love? Yes, and this chapter has quite a bit about love; besides brotherly love, there is love relating to marriage (v. 4), and love relating to belongings (v. 5). Brotherly love is affection within a family. The subject of love is very popular in the world; it is an amazing capacity, the very nature of God. He loved the world and He loves His own. This is how the world should recognize that we are Christians, John 13:35. The way it is written here makes you feel that this love was already there, and the writer is encouraging it to continue. It was there, but the enemy was trying to bring in strife. If you live around others, you will see their faults. Yet we shouldn’t focus on that. “Be to their faults a little blind, and to their ways ever kind.” In Matthew we have two important ways to show love. Read ch. 5:23—this is when you have wronged someone. Read ch. 18:15—this is when someone has wronged you. In both cases, you are making reconciliation and showing brotherly love; note that it is your responsibility both ways. These are for when love is breaking down and needs maintenance. We also read about love in I Corinthians 13 and John