November 6, 2011
November 6, 2011
Let’s turn again to Ephesians, but this time, chapter 2. This morning, we were reminded from chapter 1 of the riches of God’s grace: wonderful! Now, read vv. 4 & 5: *“God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).”*
Hymn 330- A message came from Heaven
Prayer
2 Samuel 3 & 4
Today we’ll look at 2 Samuel 3 and 4. These chapters aren’t the most pleasant. You see, there was war going on. When King Saul died, two people replaced him, cutting the land into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. David was the king in Judah, and Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was the king in Israel. Each of these kingdoms had a captain: David had Joab, and Ish-bothesh, Abner.
We know that everything that happens in life is allowed by the Lord. He even uses the wicked to accomplish His will. We can see this in the Lord’s death: God used the wickedness of man to bring about His plan.
Unfortunately, Ish-bosheth and captain Abner got into an argument, and Abner left Ish-bosheth. He sent messengers to ask David to make a league with him, telling David that if they joined, Abner would bring all of Israel to him. In chapter 2, David’s and Ish-bosheth’s men were fighting and Abner killed one of Joab’s brothers. We will see how this made Joab feel towards Abner. So David agreed to let Abner come onto their side. David had a feast for him and sent him away in peace.
At the time when Abner was at Hebron, Joab wasn’t there. When he returned and heard that David had made peace with Abner, he disagreed with it. Joab didn’t think that Abner was come in peace: he thought he was come as a spy. Then Joab sent a message to Abner telling him to come back to Hebron. When Abner came to Hebron, Joab took him aside and killed him. David made it clear that he didn’t agree with what Joab did. He said that the punishment for the death of Abner would be upon the house of Joab. The death of Abner not only affected David, but also Ish-bosheth.
Next, two men decided between themselves that they would kill Ish-bosheth. They went into the palace during the afternoon nap time. They killed him and brought his head to David. How do you think David took this? He didn’t agree with what they had done and had the two men killed.
These men told David that he would not have any more trouble from the house of Saul. But David realized that everything that happened was the Lord’s will and there would be a time when he would be fully king. David just wanted the Lord’s will. In the story of Moses, it wasn’t the Lord’s will that he stay in the palace. We know from Romans 8:28 that the Lord has a purpose in all things, even those things that displease Him.
Luke 8:16-25
We saw that the sower (the Lord Jesus) in the previous parable was looking for fruit from his seed (the Word of God).
Now we switch to the subject of light. The fruit that we produce is for God, but the light is for men. Our lives should be a testimony to others. The song reminds us that: “Jesus bids us shine”. Our Lord’s light was the light of men, but they didn’t comprehend it. Can you imagine how dark it must have been if the darkness swallowed the light? In a world of darkness, it’s precious to have the Light of the World. But this light isn’t for us to keep for ourselves; we need to produce light to show to others. But there were things that hindered fruit, and there are things that hinder light. There is no question in this passage as to whether light is produced or not; it’s just a question of whether that light is being hidden or shown. As we said, this is the light of testimony. The world has a testimony, but ours should be significantly different than theirs. You don’t have to be with a person long before you can tell which testimony they have.
Brother Norman used to pass out tracts at the hospital in Montreal. He met a man there by the name of John Fleet. He could tell very quickly that John was a Christian, because he was very excited to see him, and asked if he spoke in tongues. When Brother Norm told him no, Mr Fleet said, “You’re a forty-watt Christian. I speak with tongues, so I’m a one-hundred watt Christian.” Now, we wouldn’t say that speaking with tongues makes you a one-hundred-watt Christian (or that not speaking in tongues makes you a forty-watt Christian), but just the same there are different strengths of light.
When we preach, pass out tracts, or the like, we are winning souls; but when we do good that others can see, we are being a witness, a testimony. This is nothing to hide. Often, we light others - like one candle would light another - to do good works. Others don’t like the light because it exposes their sin. Once Brother Norm was talking to a young man, and was opening his Bible to find a verse when the man said, “Don’t bother finding it. Just tell me what it says.” He wasn’t comfortable with an open Bible. People today want to get rid of it. It’s like the chief’s wife that wanted to get rid of the mirror because she was so ugly.
We can hide our light. Some people are “closet Christians” as it were, and hide their light under a bushel. Others hide their light under a bed; they’re too lazy to let their light shine. Matthew 5:14 - 16. The purpose of lighting a lamp is to show the light. As we mentioned, this exposes the wickedness of people. That’s why John says, “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” It seems that people today don’t wait for darkness. What used to be shameful is done publicly and brazenly. In the parable of the sower, the birds (Satan) came and took the seed from the hard-packed heart. Satan can also blind hearts to truth if that truth is rejected enough. II Corinthians 4:3-7.
In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light.” When we are saved, it is if He again says, “Let there be light.” We can be like the wick in the candlestick of the tabernacle. The Holy Spirit is the oil, Christ is the flame, and we get to be the small wick. Ephesians 5:8
Hymn 341 - Jesus bids us shine
Prayer