October 28, 2007
Scripture:
Scripture:
Ministry:
Can we turn to John 15:11; the Lord is speaking here: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” Can I relate this to what the Lord said in chapter 14 in verse 27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” These are two precious results of salvation: peace and joy. I’m sure we don’t enter into them at all the way we should. He gives “peace” and “my peace.” “Peace” is something He could never experience: the peace of having our sins forgiven. That is peace with God, made possible through the work done on Calvary. He had “my peace”, the peace of God; that is how He could look at the circumstances around Him and trust God. And is it not the same with joy? Oh, the joy of knowing our sins are forgiven. We spoke of the Lord’s joy of obedience to the Father’s will, even the death of the cross. But He does not give as the world gives; when we give, we give away. He gives, but still has; He shares. He still has peace and joy, and we can share it in fellowship and communion with Him. What wondrous blessings we have in Him!
EG Hymn 282 – What a friend we have in Jesus,
Prayer
We’ll continue in Acts 9; last time we read about the conversion of Saul, and how he went from persecuting the Christians to being one. Read v. 23. This says “after many days”; in Galatians we find that Saul went into Arabia for three years, so that may have taken place here. But now the Jews wanted to kill Saul, so waited at the gate for him to leave the city. In v. 24, Paul found out about this and some of the disciples helped his escape by letting him down the wall in a basket. Saul came up to an obstacle in serving Christ; if he was found, he would have been killed. However, he had Christian friends who could help him; they were willing to jeopardize their lives to assist him. Paul couldn’t climb down the walls by himself, he needed help. We, too, should choose friends who can help us in our Christian pathway, and not friends who will tear us down. Saul went on to Jerusalem, where he had been known as a persecutor. The Christians there were not sure of the reports of his salvation were true, but he was able to confirm it.
If we jump to v. 32, we’ll find that we are once again with Peter. As he travelled, he met a man named Aeneas, who had palsy; he was partly paralyzed. Peter healed him and all those who saw him believed. This is a testimony to how we can be bound by sin, but then freed by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we can share what God has done for us with others.
Finally, we read about this lady named Dorcas. She did a lot to help the poor and the widows around her. But one day she got sick and died. They put her in an upper room and sent two men to tell Peter and ask him to come. When Peter arrived in Joppa, he found many widows weeping around Dorcas. He sent them all out and then prayed that God would raise her. And He did; Dorcas sat up! Another miracle! We could ask ourselves why God allowed this to happen to her, but it all turned out for good. The Lord used it for blessing, because many believed on Him. We can remember this when we have trials in our lives: God has a reason for it all.
I Peter 2:13 – 20
These verses speak about the different relationships or stations of life, and how the child of God should behave in them. The world has a way of behaviour, but it is not becoming to the child of God after what we have seen in the first half of the chapter. We mentioned last time how we are to submit to the governments ordained by men, although we should not be a part of them. Then we come to v. 16. We are free; we are not of this world, but born from above. Though we are not part of this scene, we still have responsibilities in this world. Also, although we are free from the law, we still must obey it; it is just not the ground of our relationship with God. We are under the laws of the country, even though we are citizens of heaven. We are responsible as children of God to do the will of God; we are called to serve Him.
Now what follows has to do with our relationships on earth. We are to honour all men; this includes everyone we come in contact with. Then, we need to love the brotherhood, all the household of faith. Paul would call it the body of Christ, and although it is so broken up today, we still need to love every member. The phrase “love one another” is found 12 times in the New Testament; it is how others will know we are Christians. Some may be hard to love, but we still need to love them.
It’s interesting to note here the structure of the verse we are looking at, v. 17. Usually sentences in scripture span a few verses, but here we have four sentences in one short verse. Each one of these is a challenge of Christian conduct.
Next we have “Fear God.” This does not mean to be afraid of Him, but to give Him reverence. There are those today who want to live as if there was no God; they hope they are just an accident. Even in Christian bookstores, you will find irreverent references to God; and church billboards will have glib remarks on them. This certainly doesn’t fall into the category of reverence.
Finally, “Honour the king.” This would take in one at the top of any country, no matter what he or she is called. This used to be easier, but now with what goes on, do we still need to honour them? Yes, for, “the powers that be are ordained of God.”
V. 18 is to servants, all those who have a boss. To be subject to is not always popular. Today, many people prefer to be high-handed towards their employers; this is not right. We should obey and submit to the person who has hired us.
In closing, read v. 19. If we must give up our rights in following these principles, who will thank us for it? God will; we should do these things for the praise of God, and not men.
EG Hymn 215 – Happy they who trust in Jesus,
Prayer