February 24, 2013

Morning Meeting

• Scripture: Leviticus 16:1 - 4 - Here we have the precious type of the day of atonement. I was thinking of the investitures that were made in Exodus and then, in Leviticus 8, the putting on of those garments. Where are they here? He was instructed to wear linen. Linen speaks of the humility of humanity. If Aaron was going to make atonement, it must not be in glory, but in humility.
• Hymn 219 - Lord, what is man? ‘Tis He who died
• Prayer
• Hymn 27 - Lamb of God, our souls adore Thee

• Scripture:

  • Philippians 2:5-8
  • Psalm 22:9 &10 - What a combination! His hope and trust were in the Lord, but as a man He was dependent upon His mother. He was made in the likeness of man, yet not as man.
• Breaking of Bread
• Hymn 88 - O blessed Saviour, is Thy love
• Philippians 2:9 - 11
• Prayer

Ministry: Norman Burgess

Let’s read the rest of the verses in Philippians 2, vv. 9 - 11. Here we have a ‘wherefore’ because of all the Lord had done in His death. Think of the moment when the cross was over! The work of Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus was done and the body sealed. The tomb then opened to show that it was empty and the Lord showed himself alive. He went as far as Bethany and blessed them all and rose into the clouds. I was thinking about what was on the other side of the clouds, when He arrived back into glory. It was not a garment of linen. How blessed it is to remember His death, but also that He’s in glory!

Children’s Meeting: Philip Burgess

Hymn 367 – When He cometh, when He cometh

Prayer

We went through the story of Elijah and have now started the exciting story of Elisha. Elijah and Elisha were prophets, called to bring messages to the children of Israel from God. In our last story Elisha helped a woman pay a debt.

God showed His love to us by sending His Son to earth, to die on the cross for our sins. I John 3:18 tells us that we show our love to people by what we do to them.

2 Kings 4:8 - 17

When Elisha travelled, doing the work that God had given him to do, people would invite him to stay with them. One time, as Elisha was going through the city of Shunem, a great lady from the city invited him to stay for the night. At first it seems that Elisha didn’t want to stay, but he finally gave in. After this time, it seems that Elisha came by their house quite regularly. Each time, she and her husband would show their love by welcoming him in. Romans 12:13: just like the couple in our story, one way to show your love is by being hospitable.

After Elisha had come by several times, the woman suggested to her husband that they build another room onto their house. They built the room and put a bed, a stool, a table, and a candlestick inside.

Elisha really appreciated this kindness and wanted to do something for this couple. He asked his servant to find out what he could do for them. After some research, Gehazi came back and told Elisha that the couple had no children. Elisha thought this was a great idea. When Elisha told the woman that she was going to have a child, she didn’t believe him. But, as Elisha promised, the couple did have a son. This couple was rewarded for their love to Elisha.

Read Galatians 6:10. As Christians we should show love one to another so that others can see the love of the Lord.

Reading Meeting

Luke 21:1-24

This is a prophetic chapter, with our Lord telling what will happen in the short and long term.

In our last chapter, Jesus dealt with a lot of questions; and He ended with a warning about the scribes, specifically mentioning that they devour widows’ houses. Now, here at the beginning of chapter 21, we have a widow—maybe one that was taken advantage of.

Jesus “looked,” “saw,” and “said.” He looked up and the rich men were casting gifts into the treasury, and He saw a widow that also was giving. The treasury was a place in the temple where the valuables were kept. The most valuable treasure of all—Jesus Christ—was there, but they didn’t recognize it.

This widow is a bright spot in a dark scene. She was poor, and yet she gave all that she had. Jesus commended her for that, yet He was the One that gave her the faith to give those mites! She was obviously trusting in God, because you need to trust God to give all that you have. The rich men were just giving to be seen, but Jesus passed them by and commended this widow. The Lord’s accounting system is different than ours. With Him, it’s not how much you keep that counts, it’s how much you give!

There’s a story about a church that needed money to pay off a mortgage. The pastor called the deacons in and asked for special prayer. They prayed about this, and later the pastor called them all together again and told them, “The Lord provided for this need.” Of course, they all wondered where the money came from, and the pastor finally told them that a certain brother had donated it. “Oh,” said one deacon, “He gives because he’s got it.” “No,” said the pastor, “He’s got it because he gives.”

This widow’s story launches us into the prophetic part of the chapter. Some people were remarking how beautiful the temple was, and Jesus predicted the fall of His Father’s house. Naturally, everyone’s question was: “When will this happen?”

God wants to do with His people; He wants to be among them, and there is more than one temple in the Scriptures. The Lord called Abraham to leave his country. Later God delivered his descendants out of Egypt, and from the just punishment of the death of the first-born by the blood of the paschal lamb. Once in the wilderness, God gave the Children of Israel rules to live by, and then said, “Make me a place to live, because I want to dwell among my people.” What God redeems, He claims. He claimed the Israelites, and now He wanted to dwell among them. This led to the building of the tabernacle. Once in the Promised Land, God still wanted to dwell with them, even though they had been so bad in the wilderness. The tabernacle lasted until Solomon, who built a temple, and that lasted until Judah was taken captive. Eventually a few Jews came back, rebuilt the temple, and God again dwelt with them. In Jesus’ time there was “Herod’s Temple”. The glory of God came to in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, but it wasn’t recognized. This is the temple that Jesus said would be destroyed.

Verse twenty—and all the prophecy up to verse twenty-four—happened in 70 A.D. when Emperor Titus sacked Jerusalem, and destroyed the temple. This state goes on until the “times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Today’s temple is not made with hands, but instead is made up of every believer in Christ. God dwells on the earth in us. “Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:3).

The bread at the remembrance of the Lord represents all believers: the Body of Christ. It is said that at Pentecost Christ got a body, and God got a house. That house has now grown into a “great house” that is incredibly divided. It still exists in God’s eyes, though. He still dwells among His people. One day Christ will come and take all Christians to His Father’s house, where there are many mansions. This appears to be a reference to Solomon’s temple, where there were chambers for the priests to live in. God’s house is a place of many abodes!

There will be two more temples in the future: a temple in Jerusalem, where the Antichrist will set up his image; and a temple for the people of the Millennial kingdom (see Ezekiel 40 - 44). In the mean time, we are God’s temple down here.

Hymn 10 – Faith is a very simple thing

Prayer