November 20, 2011

Morning Meeting

• Hymn 142 - Glory to God on high!

• Scripture:

  • Luke 2:8-14 - We just sang, “Glory to God on high - Peace and upon earth and joy, - Good will to man.” I want to contrast His birth with His death.
  • Luke 23:33 - There were no angels here, no physical demonstration. Jesus gave Himself. We see love in that action. Love proves itself. It proved that he was willing to do it for the Father. What a contrast!
• Hymn 27 - Lamb of God, our souls adore Thee

• Scripture:

  • Philippians 2:5-8 - Jesus was placed in a manger. Our hymn reminded us of His mercy and grace when He laid His glory by.
  • John 12:27, 28 - He laid His glory by to glorify the Father’s name.
  • Philippians 2:9 - he became low to glorify God in both life and death. We just sang, “Glory, glory everlasting, be to Thee, Thou Lamb of God!”
• Hymn 121 - Glory unto Jesus be
• Prayer
• Hymn 271 b2 - O God, though Christ we sing
• Breaking of Bread
• Hymn 105 - Glory, glory everlasting
• Ministry: 2 Corinthians 3:18
• Prayer

Ministry: Norman Burgess

Let’s read a practical verse as we finish. 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” May it be so.

Children’s Meeting: Philip Burgess

Hymn 201 - When we walk with the Lord

Prayer

II Samuel 5

Once Saul died, there were two kings in the land of Israel: Ish-bosheth ruled in the upper part and David ruled the lower part. Last time, we learned about the death of Ish-bosheth. David finally became king over all of Israel. It had been sixteen years since he had been anointed by Samuel. David had had many chances to kill Saul, but he had trusted that the Lord would crown him when the time was right. And the Lord did undertake for David.

We read here that Hiram, king of Tyre, sent trees, carpenters, and masons to David, so that David could build a house. This didn’t make David proud: he said that it was a blessing from the Lord.

Well, when the Philistines heard that David was made king, they went up to fight against Israel. When he found out about this, the first thing David did was pray. He asked the Lord if it was His will that he should go up against the Philistines. The Lord told him to go and fight, and they won the war. Not too long afterwards, the Philistines came to fight again. You might think that David would go up without inquiring of the Lord this time, seeing that he won the last battle. But no, David inquired of the Lord and the Lord told him to get behind the Philistines and attack them from the back. Then, the Lord went before them and smote the Philistines. David did as the Lord commanded and the Lord blessed him with another victory. We can learn from this: the Lord wants us to ask Him what His will for us is. All we need to do is trust and obey. David trusted and obeyed the Lord, both while waiting to be crowned king, and now while he was king.

Reading Meeting

Luke 8:22-40

Earlier in this chapter we saw that Jesus said, “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.” (V.21). These relationships are natural, but Jesus spoke of them as spiritual relationships. We can be brought into relationship with the Lord by hearing and doing God’s word. It’s a precious fact.

But not everything is smooth sailing. One day, Jesus got into a ship with His disciples and said,

“Let us go over unto the other side of the lake.” (V22). When you have a relationship with the Lord in the way the disciples did, you follow Him. The Lord said, “Let’s go over to the other side.” He didn’t say, “Let’s go fishing” - even though He had some talent in that area in the form of Peter and Andrew, James and John. And He didn’t say, “It’s a nice day. Let’s go for a cruise.” There was a journey on His mind - to go to the other side. That’s the way that our lives are. We’re bound for the other side. Although it’s like sailing on turbulent waters, and there are perils and troubles, we’re with the Lord and He’s with us.

God hath not promised

Skies always blue

Flower-strewn pathways

All our lives through.

God hath not promised

Sun without rain

Joy without sorrow

Peace without pain.

But God hath promised

Strength for the day

Rest for the labor

Light for the way;

Grace for the trials

Help from above

Unfailing sympathy

Undying love.

• Annie Johnson Flint That’s a true poem. Just because the disciples had left all and followed the Lord didn’t mean that everything was smooth sailing for them. They still had to trust and obey. And while they were on that journey across the lake, a violent storm blew up, and was apparently sinking their boat. Jesus was asleep in the back. Although we have the blessing of all of our Lord’s very true promises, even that does not mean all will go smoothly for us. Sometimes we’re in deep waters in our lives, but everything that happens to us is allowed of God, and He is in the boat to see us through.

In Mark’s gospel, the disciples woke the Lord with the words, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). But the Lord did care.

Now, was the Lord totally oblivious to the disciples situation? Brother Norman once knew a man who traveled by plane frequently. One day, on a plane, a woman who was very nervous about flying took the seat beside him. “It’s okay,” this man told her. “I fly a lot. Don’t worry, we’re safe in this thing.” Thus reassured, the woman fell asleep. During the flight, though, the plane hit some very rough turbulence, and Brother Norman’s friend was hanging onto his seat, hoping that the plane wouldn’t go down. Near the end of the flight, though - when things were much smoother - the woman woke up and said, “This has been a marvelous flight.” She had been oblivious to the trouble around her. Not so with the disciples. The Lord woke up, rebuked the storm, and then asked the disciples, “Where is your faith?” Instead of rebuking the Lord, they should have asked for faith to sleep through the storm.

Now, we know that God never slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4), but in Luke Jesus is presented as the Son of Man. And as Darby writes:

There see the Godhead glory

*Shine through that human veil, *

Here we see both sides of the Lord Jesus. We see a tired man in need of sleep, and we see God saying, “Peace, be still.”

The language used here is interesting: Jesus “rebuked” the storm. He knew who was behind it: Satan. It was impossible for that boat to drown with the Lord on it. In the other storm, when Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, he didn’t sink because of the storm; he sank because he took his eyes off the Lord. If all the disciples had looked to the Lord, they could have all had peace. They were promised the end of the journey because the Lord had said, “Let’s go across.” We’re promised the end of the journey too. The divine promises are ours to claim as we go through this scene. In our storms, may we look up, not around.

It was the wind that made the waves that were swamping the boat. Who is the prince of the power of the air? Satan. Satan is out to oppose our journey, as he was out to oppose the Lord. He enjoyed frightening the disciples, but his main purpose was to get rid of the Lord. Our God doesn’t sleep, but we do. One wonders how many times the Lord has saved us from an attack of Satan that we had no idea of. Thankfully, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).

When the Lord quieted the storm, the disciples asked, “What manner of man is this?” They had seen His miracles, but we’re still learning who He was.

We were encouraged by our hymn to “trust and obey”. The winds obeyed the Lord without any encouragement. They were created by the Lord and didn’t have a choice. On the other hand, we are free agents and must choose to obey the Lord.

When we get to the other side of our journey, it will be bliss. The disciples, though, found themselves in the country of the Gadarenes. And they found more work of the enemy, too. A man possessed with demons - who didn’t have to ask who Jesus was - came out to meet them. Jesus rebuked the devils and allowed them to depart into a herd of swine. The pigs ran down a steep place and drowned in the lake.

We get four miracles in this chapter: the quieting of the storm, the man with the devils, the woman with the issue of blood, and Jairus’ daughter. Luke gives these in a moral order - a sequence of spiritual growth - as opposed to sequential order. The first miracle related to the disciples relationship with the Lord. The second showed how even the demons are subject to Christ. Demons, disease, and death are all dealt with in this chapter.

Hymn 234 - Saviour, lead me lest I stray

Prayer