August 5, 2007
Scripture:
Galatians 5:1—We just sang “Free because beyond our doom.” As we remember the Lord this morning, we can remember that we were under the yoke of bondage. But Christ has set us free. WE can thank and praise Him for that.
Ministry—Greg Fox
Can we turn for a moment to I John 4:9; we had before us the love-slave, who would say that he loved his master, wife, and children. To make this plain, he would go to the judges and they would bore a hole in his ear. Then he would bear the sign of his love. In this verse we read, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, [This is a sign of the love of God] because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” In what more plain way could God’s love be shown? In Romans, we read that “God commended his love towards us.” He did this by sending His only begotten Son to set us free. This is love.
Children’s Meeting—Philip Burgess
EG Hymn 333 – Come to the Saviour, make no delay,
Prayer
We’ve been going through Acts, but I want to look at something different today. Let’s turn to Mark. Have you ever had a ride on a horse or a pony? In the story we’re going to read today, there is a colt that the Lord Jesus rode. We’ll see how that donkey is like us. Read Mark 11:1–7. The Lord Jesus was coming to Jerusalem with His disciples and He asked two of them to go to a little town not far away and get a young donkey that was tied. He said that if anyone asked them what they were doing, they were to answer that Jesus needed it. And that is exactly what happened. Now this colt, we learn from verse 2, was tied up. We also find that he had never been ridden. Animals were their means of transportation in those days and they needed to train them to be ridden. This donkey had not yet been trained. From v. 4 we find that he was tied up outside a house, in a place where two ways met. I want to talk about those two ways, but first let’s look at the donkey. He is tied up; we talked this morning about being free. The Lord had called this donkey; He had sent the disciples to get it. If we are like this donkey, being loosed is like being saved. We are freed from the bondage of sin.
But now let’s look at the ways. There are two ways. One way was the way the Lord wanted. We can think of one way as the way of salvation or service. The other way is a way of sin and self. We need to make the choice to let the Lord do what He wants with us. In the Bible, there are a number of children that the Lord was able to use—Samuel, Miriam, the little maid, and the boy with the five loaves and two fishes, to name a few; so even little children can serve the Lord. As it says in verse 3, “The Lord hath need of [them].”
Reading Meeting
I Peter 1:18–25
We’ve been looking at the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish and without spot. He was perfect, pure, and sinless, the ransom for us. In v. 20, we find that this plan of sending the Lord to shed His precious blood for our redemption was foreknown before the foundation of the world. We find a similar statement in Matthew 25:34, except instead of “before the foundation of the world,” we read, “from the foundation of the world.” What we find is that the Church of God is connected to eternity past because it has to do with eternity future. What we read in Matthew is talking about the Millennium—not eternity—and therefore it has to do with “from the foundation of the world.” And not only was Calvary foreknown; it was planned. The whole universe was made specifically for this purpose—amazing! Calvary makes it possible for us to be part of the plan and person of Jesus Christ—joined to Him.
Through history, God gave man specific tests—in Eden, before the flood, at the call of Abraham, all through the wilderness—and man failed each time. The Lord came, and that was a test for man, but he failed. Even today, we can see the failure in the church. The Lord was tested while on earth, and He came out triumphant in every way. He was the perfect Lamb of God.
At the end of verse 20, we read, “the last times.” In Hebrews 1 we read, “these last days.” Is there a difference? Hebrews 1 is talking about when the Lord came to earth; that was the last days in the sense that God has no other plans to reach out to man in that way. “Last of all he sent unto them his son” (Matthew 21:37). And what did we do with Him? “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23). But just like that donkey, we needed to be redeemed: “every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck” (Exodus 13:13). And not only has He done what man could not do for himself, He has given us the faith to believe it, v. 21. It is through Christ we believe. The law was given, but grace and truth came in the person of Jesus Christ. Verse 21 also says that God raised Him from the dead. Man had slain him; the atonement blood had been shed. But the resurrection was required as much as the blood; “if Christ be not raised … ye are yet in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17) It seems as if all the power of Satan was trying to resist the resurrection, but read Ephesians 1:19–23. God’s mighty power overcame Satan’s death grip on the child of God. That was foreordained as well; He declared “the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10).
But not only did God raise Him from the dead; He gave Him glory. The Lord wants us to see His glory; it must be something very awe-inspiring, something spectacular. It has an effect on our faith and hope, the end of v. 21 says.
As we go on from here, we will find that there is more than just the fact that our sins are washed away; we must go through a purification process. This is because we have a new life, something the Jews did not have in the way we do; they did not have the Spirit of God living within them, or the opportunity to see a risen Saviour, both blessings of ours.