October 7, 2012
Scripture:
Read Hebrews 10:17 & 12 - 14. We have been thinking about how God enjoins us never to forget: “This do in remembrance of me.” We are prone to forget, but God never forget. But what is it that we remember? It is the very act that made it possible for God to forget our sins and iniquities: precious truth!
Hymn 293 - A little ship was on the sea
Prayer
Last time, we read the story of the Roman centurion who had a very sick servant. He came to Jesus because he knew that Jesus had the power to heal his servant: this is because He was God in the flesh. This emphasizes His two parts. His parents named him Jesus: this shows His human side; He was a person like each of us. But we read in Matthew 1:23 that He would be called Emmanuel: “God with us.” This shows His divine side, which enabled Him to do miracles.
Jesus commended the centurion for his great faith. Faith is trusting or believing in something. The centurion had faith in Jesus’ ability to say the word and heal his servant. And in Matthew 8:13, his servant was healed because of this faith.
The next story is about Peter’s mother-in-law, who was sick with the fever. It seems that Peter had invited the Lord over to his house, and mentioned her while they were talking. Jesus wasn’t going to let this just slip by: He asked to see her and when he touched her she the fever left her. Interesting, how in one instance He touches the person, and in another, doesn’t even see him.
Matthew 8:18, 23 - 27
Jesus and the disciples were taking a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. When they began, the weather conditions were great. Some of the disciples were experienced fishermen, so they probably took their places at the oars. All of a sudden, the calm sea turned into a boisterous storm. The waves were splashing into the boat and the disciples were quite frightened. During the calm part of the boat ride, Jesus had fallen asleep and now the disciples were trying to wake him. When Jesus, awoke he calmed the wind and rain by just talking to it. This is an amazing story! When Jesus was sleeping, we saw His human side; but when He calmed the storm, we see His divine side. We see both Jesus and Emmanuel.
Once Jesus calmed the storm, He told the disciples that they had very little faith. The centurion had great faith, but the disciples had little faith. This disappointed the Lord very much, but that fact that the disciples had little faith didn’t stop the Lord from doing the miracle. It is nice to see that He helps those who have great faith and also those who have little faith.
Luke 16:13-31
Last week we saw the unjust steward who got fired, but did what he could to secure his future. From that we learn that we have to live today in light of eternity.
All of us have “mammon” in contrast to true riches. Temporal things versus spiritual things; least versus much. God wants us to deal faithfully with both. We need to use temporal things correctly, and we need to invest in spiritual things. If we’re not faithful with temporal things, we won’t be given spiritual things.
Now it’s good to come to meeting on the Lord’s Day, but that’s not the only time we should be investing in spiritual things. We should be investing in spiritual things all the time. We have responsibilities and families we need to take care of, but when taking care of them dominates our lives, something’s out of balance. We can’t serve God and Mammon. We can’t just invest in temporal things all week and just invest in spiritual things on Lord’s day. God has given us minds, opportunities, and time; and we need to invest them. The poem tells us:
Only one life, t’will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Work and spiritual things aren’t really separate. We need to do all our work as to the Lord, even if we’re called to do menial things.
Jesus had been talking to the disciples; but the legalistic Pharisees were eavesdropping, and they didn’t like what they heard. Jesus wasn’t preaching the law of tithing, but rather that we have full responsibility for what we do with what God has given us.
V15. The Pharisees were living a charade. They looked good before men, but God knew their hearts. Samuel tells us that “The Lord looketh on the heart”. V15b. What a contrast! You see all the celebrity magazines in stores, and people must buy them, but they are an abomination to God. Men may highly esteem them, but they are contrary to what He wants.
The law was over, because John the Baptist was gone. It had ruled since Sinai, but men failed and the law condemned them. Something new was coming in, and it involved a king and a kingdom. The law’s ruling was over, but it wasn’t going to fail. It now serves a different purpose. Before it was the ground on which to approach God, but now it shows us how far we are from God. To approach God, we must now enter the kingdom of heaven.
Out of nowhere, it seems, we get verse 18. Jesus pulled out just one part of the law, so it must have been relevant to the people of that time. It’s definitely relative to us today, because some records show that fifty percent of marriages are failing. Some people don’t even bother to get married anymore. Those of you who aren’t married, let this speak to you: before you get married, make sure you have the Lord’s mind! The Lord is not against marriage; He invented it. To Him it is a holy and serious matter. We are not all called to be eunuchs, and it’s important to have the Lord’s mind and will in this blessed union.
Hymn 362 - Two little eyes to look to God
Prayer