May 29, 2011
Scripture:
Scripture:
Ministry:
Turn to Genesis 1; I’d like to correct something I said in prayer. I said that we were made in the likeness of God, and the Lord became in our likeness. That’s not really correct, is it? Read v. 27: *“So God created man in his own image.”* Now read Philippians 2:7: *“But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”* The work image speaks of a representative; likeness speaks of moral similarity. In Genesis, we read that man was made in the image of God: we represent Him on this earth, but we are not in His likeness. We failed as the representatives of God; and therefore God Himself must come as a likeness of man—but He was not fallen—to take up our cause as a sacrifice for sin.
Hymn 381 - I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
Prayer
1 Samuel 23:16-29
Last time, we got through part of 1 Samuel 23. David had gone to Keilah and saved it from the Philistines. Then, Saul planned to come to Keilah and catch David while he was in the city.The news of Saul’s plan got to David and David asked the Lord whether or not the men of Keilah were going to help him or Saul. The Lord told David that the men of Keilah were going to help Saul catch him, so David left the city and went into the wood.
How do you think David was feeling right then? He saved Keilah from the Philistines; then, when David needed help, they were against him. David was probably feeling dejected. But then, Jonathan came to strengthen David in the Lord. We need to fellowship with each other to be strengthened in the Lord’s things. Whenever we have the opportunity to be with other Christians, we should enjoy fellowship.
Jonathan said to David, “You will be King and I will be next to you.” The sad thing is that the next time we hear of Jonathon (in Chapter 30), he is slain.
Jonathan had faith when he killed the Philistines with his armor-bearer. Then, he loved David with his own soul when he killed Goliath and even gave David his own armor. Next, he came and strengthened David in our chapter today. Unfortunately, Jonathan made the mistake of going back home.
We should each be like Jonathan and love the Lord Jesus. We also need to be strengthened in the Lord. We need to read our Bibles, pray, and go to meetings. It’s sad to say that Jonathan didn’t end well. In every other instance, his is an example that we should follow.
Read Hebrews 11:29: Moses was willing to leave all the comforts of the palace to be with the children of Israel; this is what Jonathan should have done. May each of us live out what our hymn said: “I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold.”
Saul got back on David’s trail when someone told him where David was. They were on a mountain, so while David was on one side, Saul was on the other side. Just as Saul’s men were getting close, they had to stop the hunt because the Philistines were coming to invade the land.
May we remember Jonathan and live our lives to please to the Lord.
Luke 5:1-16
This chapter ends with a parable (Vv.36-39.) that we can connect to the beginning of the chapter. The Lord was talking about preserving wine; old wine has to go into old bottles, and new wine has to go into new bottles. The Lord had come to a place that was filled with the law. He brought grace and truth; but law and grace were incompatible, so He had to choose new vessels to fill with the new message. The Law was good in its time; it showed men that they couldn’t be righteous by themselves. Now Jesus was showing that you could be righteous through God’s grace. Here we see Simon being prepared as a new vessel to carry this message
This chapter opens with our Lord by the sea of Gennesaret, and we see something amazing. The people pressed to hear the word of God. We don’t find that so much today. The Lord brought them gracious words. It must have been a big contrast to the nit-picky regulations of the rabbis. Jesus was there as a teacher to teach them Divine words that they had never heard.
Jesus entered a vessel to find a chosen vessel (the term ‘chosen vessel’ usually applies to Paul, but Peter was a chosen vessel as well). Here we find Peter, called Simon, with James and John. These men were the inner circle of the disciples. They were with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane. At least two, and possibly all three, of these men wrote divinely inspired books. These were men that the Lord chose. He got into Simon’s boat and asked if He could use it. The Lord wants to use what we have. May we be as willing as Simon.
Matthew 13:1. The Lord spoke to the Jews until they started to rebuke Him, and then He went down to the sea and preached the parables of the kingdom. He usually spoke to the Jews in the synagogues (Luke 4:16, 31, 44), but He also went beyond the bounds of Judaism. It’s interesting to see that our Lord got involved with fishermen by trade, because later on it makes an excellent metaphor. Peter, James, and John were cleaning (some passages say mending) their nets. On the day of Pentecost Peter cast out his gospel net and caught many people. It’s good to have a clean and mended net, so that none escape. Jesus got into Peter’s boat and taught the people the word of God.
Jesus had a limited message that He could preach compared to what we have. We can get excited and tell the story of the cross, of the blood that washes away our sins, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord was in a time of transition from law to grace, and so He preached the gospel of the kingdom. That’s the message that John the Baptist preached, but Jesus went beyond what John taught.
When Jesus was done speaking to the people, He turned to Peter and said, “Launch into the deep and let down your nets for a draught.” ‘Nets’ is plural. Peter said, “I’ll let down the net.” Before he could do that, though, he had to launch into the deep. We need to get deep into the Word. What we have is not shallow. We need to be occupied with these verses, really dig out their meaning, and pray over them.
I wonder if Simon knew the Lord before this. Maybe he thought as the others - that Jesus was just a local man - because he doesn’t seem to realize that He is the Lord until he catches the draught of fishes. He probably thought, “This teacher doesn’t know about fishing like I do.” He called Jesus ‘Master’; but slightly rebuked Him by saying that they already tried, and it wasn’t a good day to fish. Yet, maybe to pacify the teacher, he agrees to go out. If we preach the Word in our own strength, we won’t have success. We didn’t yield our boat completely. When Jesus was directing Peter’s course, though, he caught a multitude of fish. So much that the net broke (maybe if he put down the other nets, this wouldn’t have happened).
To tie this in with preparing vessels, we are all vessels (2 Timothy 2:20). Romans 9:23-24 tells us that both Jews and Gentiles can come into blessing as vessels of mercy.
Hymn 179 - Nothing but Christ as on we tread
Prayer
P.S. Peter and Jonathan are contrasts. Peter followed the Lord, but Jonathan didn’t.