October 23, 2011
October 16, 2011
Scripture:
Can we turn to a verse in Hebrews 2? We had in our first hymn, “O head! once full of bruises, so full of pain and scorn.” We were reminded in John that he received that crown of thorns. We also sang in that hymn, “Mocked with a crown of thorn.”
Now, read v. 9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour.” We also sang “Worthy, O Son of man, art Thou
Of every crown that decks Thy brow.” The Lord took the low place on the cross; now, He has received a high place. Remember that He was made Head of the church. How precious to think of Him, surrounded in brightest majesty, crowned with a crown of glory!
Hymn 346 - Jesus who lived above the sky
Prayer
2 Samuel 2:1-4
Today we are going to start chapter 2 of II Samuel. Saul was dead and we know that Samuel had anointed David to be the next king. So how was David going to take that role?
David knew that Saul had died, so he inquired of the Lord to see what he should do. To inquire means to ask. David asked the Lord two questions: should he go up to Judah? And where in Judah should he go? It is nice to see that even though he was anointed king, David didn’t do anything without asking the Lord first. Read Proverbs 3:5 & 6; he acknowledged the Lord in all his ways. David knew that the Lord wanted him to be king, and he wanted to know how he should become king.
In Acts, when Saul was on the road to Damascus, the sun shone very brightly in his eyes. He said, “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” He wanted to know God’s will as well. Psalm 86:11 is another verse that talks about the Lord teaching us the way. As we went through 1 Samuel, we saw how David was a picture of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus did only what His Father wanted him to do.
The Lord told David to go to Hebron. David took his wives, his men and their famiies with him. There, the people crowned David king of Judah. In the days of Abraham, Hebron was a place of burial, and therefore is a picture of death. As we look at David as a picture of the Lord Jesus, we are reminded that the Lord’s death gives him the right to reign in a coming day and in our hearts today. The Lord should be the center of our lives, our homes, and the assembly.
All the families that came with David stayed in houses around Hebron. This is a good picture of how we should make the Lord the center of our hearts, our families and assembly. We should make Him the center of our lives. How do we do this? One primary way is by looking to the Bible to see what it says about a given topic.
So David became king of Judah. After all he went through with Saul, he was now finally king of Judah. At the beginning of his reign, David is not the only king in Israel: one of Saul’s sons (who didn’t get killed in battle) was made king over another part of Israel.
It is nice to have the example of David inquiring of the Lord. Each of us should inquire of the Lord and ask the Lord like Saul (Paul), “What wilt thou have me to do?”
Luke 8:1-25
Bellett says that chapters 8-10 of Luke are a group. In chapter 9, Jesus sends out the twelve disciples to minister; and in chapter 10, He sends out the seventy. Our chapter is a ‘training’ chapter, where we see Jesus Himself going out into the cities and teaching. The twelve disciples were with Him, and so were many others. Our Lord was the center of it all; He was the One Who had called or attracted them.
The text says that He went through all the villages and cities preaching. And He didn’t just preach, He demonstrated His message as well. What He was preaching was the Glad Tidings of the Kingdom of Heaven. Our Lord was preaching, but He didn’t have the privilege - like we do - of giving the gospel. When we see phrases like “the Kingdom of heaven”, “the Kingdom of God”, “the Kingdom of the Son” or “the Kingdom of the Father”; we know that they are all one kingdom in different phases or times. The Lord told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven”, and we sometimes use this when preaching the gospel; but today this kingdom is more “mysterious” because it takes in all Christendom. Later there will be an earthly kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is part of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are part of a domain, and we have a king over us. Jesus came and told these people, “Repent!” We need to turn our hearts to God. We are God’s creatures, and Jesus reminds us here that God has a claim to us.
In connection, Mark 12 gives us the parable of the wicked husbandmen. Right after telling that, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “You have rejected the stone that has become the head of the corner.” The Jews wanted a kingdom, but rejected Christ. People today want a world without God. They are a creation, and yet they don’t want the Creator.
So Jesus went about preaching that God had a claim on peoples’ lives. This was called the good news, but not all took it as such. Not everyone takes the Gospel as good news, either.
But before we get the story of the sower, we are introduced to some women that followed our Lord. They were attached and indebted to the Lord because He had healed them of devils and infirmities. The devils must have been such a harassment. Mary Magdalene had seven devils cast out of her; and seven is the number of completeness. She was under complete domination by Satan. Brother Norm had a friend whose uncle was possessed with a demon. He could do amazing things, but sometimes he couldn’t sleep because this devil was harassing him. It is certainly nothing to envy. We can also think of the Gadarene who would be in the tombs freeing himself from chains, and cutting himself with stones. When Jesus freed him from his devils, the people saw him sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. The Lord had come and completely removed the work of Satan in these lives. They must have been incredibly devoted to Him for it. Love tends to create love, but we know that throughout the Lord’s ministry His love created hate. His love actually made Him adversaries.
Now, these women didn’t just tag along with Jesus. They ministered to His needs. Ministering to the One Who could feed five thousand people from almost nothing! He had everything, but He allowed these women to give to His needs to show their gratefulness. We can only give to God what He has given to us. His greatest need is our love.
The parable of the sower is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There is a slight difference in each account, so to fit the message of each gospel. As it so often was, this parable from the Lord is actually about Himself, and what He was doing. The Lord had gone into the cities to preach, and now it seems as though they have come out to Him in the country. In that day, people were gathered around Him, and today people still gather around Him. These people came and met Jesus where He was. How many today seek to gather where He is?
This parable has three things in it: the sower, the seed, and the soil. The Sower is a constant, and the seed - the Word of God - is a constant. What varies? The soil. The soil is the heart of the recipient of the seed. Three types of soil in the parable don’t bear fruit, and in the one that does there is still variation. It’s so simple - we can all understand it - and yet there is a message for each of us. The point is: do we want to bear fruit? That is what our Jesus is looking for. We don’t always know what kinds of hearts we’re preaching to when we give the Gospel; but we can try to plow and have something reach the hard conscience. We also need to ask the Lord what is needed for each occasion.
Hymn 381 - I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
Prayer