April 29, 2007
Scripture:
Scripture:
Ministry:
Just a thought that comes before one: our brother read the words of Joseph. I was thinking of Isaiah 26:8: “the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.” These are the thoughts we have had this morning. But what had put that desire in our hearts? How precious is that desire to be in his presence! I connect this verse with Song of Solomon 7:10: “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” Here we have the bride enjoying the fact that her bridegroom’s desire is towards her. Oh, Beloved, there is One who had brought us here, who wants us here to break bread. Is it not that which draws us? His desire, his passion, brings us here. We are loved with an everlasting love. His desire is to have us near Him, even in His presence.
EG Hymn 350 – I will make you fishers of men, Prayer • Last time we started into the book of Acts; we saw how the Lord told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for a promise: the Holy Spirit. It was on the day of Pentecost, we read in ch. 2, when the Holy Spirit came. We can see the power of this in v. 41, when 3,000 were added to the Church. Today I’d like to look at chapter 3. This chapter is about a lame man; read vv. 1–11. There are a number of things I would like to look at in this story. First of all, notice that Peter and John went to the temple together. They had been fishermen, but were now fishers of men. They were good friends; it reminds us to choose for our friends those who love the Lord and are doing His work. Then, they were going to the temple for the hour of prayer, a good reminder of how important prayer is; it is mentioned in Acts quite often. Now we come to this lame man; he waited at the gate of the temple to ask people for money. As Peter and John came by, he asked them for alms. When Peter told him to look on them, he probably thought they were going to give him something. But Peter didn’t have any silver or gold for him; he told the man, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” This man had never walked a day in his life, and he was about 40 years old. He couldn’t change himself. But when Peter said that, he got up and walked and leapt and praised God. This man was like one who was unsaved; he couldn’t change his state. But when he was healed, he let his life show it. Many people in the temple knew that man; they had probably seen him as they went in. Now he showed them that he had been completely changed, and through his testimony Peter was able to preach to more people, v. 16. We sometimes see others who have times of difficulty, but then see how the Lord brings them through, for His own glory. So from this story we can learn many things: the importance of good friends, prayer, and being a testimony to the Lord. If we can remember these things, they can help us in our daily walk.
I Peter 1:1–9 • This is a pastoral epistle; it fulfills Peter’s commission to “Feed my sheep.” What we just saw in Acts was not Peter’s pastoral work. He was given a number of different tasks; he was given the keys of the kingdom. In Acts 2, he used one of those keys to open salvation to the Jews of Jerusalem. As was aforementioned, before we get to Acts, we see Peter getting a special role at the end of John 21: “Feed my sheep,” and that is what we see here. Maybe some of these scattered Jewish Christians were saved in Jerusalem around the beginning of Acts. This is a general epistle, not written to any specific group, but to individuals within a region. V. 2 begins by mentioning their election. The Jews understood that concept because they were an elect nation. But that is not what Peter is talking about here. This is election by the foreknowledge of God. It is a comfort to know that we were chosen before the foundation of the world and whatever trials or persecution we go through, we are still His and always will be. We have the trinity mentioned in this verse in connection with our election and there are some special prepositions in regards to it. It is according to the foreknowledge of God, through the sanctification of the Spirit, and unto the “obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” All this gives us a definite purpose. Since God has chosen us, the Spirit has sanctified us, and both for our obedience to Christ, we are responsible people. Today people do not want that responsibility, and so they chose to believe things like evolution; they become atheistic. If there is no God, we are random beings and therefore not responsible to anyone. But that means we have no purpose in life either. This sanctification of the Spirit is for, or unto, our obedience to Jesus. The sprinkling of the blood is not the shedding of the blood; the blood has been shed, but unless we are saved, it is not applied to us. A family in Egypt might kill a lamb, but unless they apply the blood to the door, they are not safe. What we have at the end of the verse may not seem too special; most of the epistles are introduced with “Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” or something similar. But these people didn’t have grace or peace in the Old Testament. They didn’t know grace: they had to offer sacrifices for their sin. They didn’t know peace: they were constantly on guard for un-forgiven sin. When the Lord came to the disciples after His resurrection and said, “Peace be unto you,” it was the first time the disciple could really have had peace. And if there is anything Satan doesn’t like, it is people with peace and joy. Peter himself knew the peace of having been given grace. These people were under the stress of persecution, but Peter encourages them to have peace. He says it should be multiplied, so that you can’t run out. We should dwell in its inexhaustible fullness day by day. EG Hymn 82 – Ere God had built the mountains, Prayer