July 24, 2016
Scripture:
Scripture:
Ministry:
Read Proverbs 8:22 - 31. These verses show us the Lord in the bosom of the Father. The Father’s bosom is greater than the Father’s glory; one writer says that glory can be revealed, but the Father’s bosom cannot. Read John 17:26. The Lord experiences that love of the Father while here on earth. Read John 15:9. He wants us to experience it as well.
Hymn 25 - O have you not heard of that wonderful love
Prayer
We’ve been talking about the three people the Lord raised from the dead. We’ve seen Jairus’ daughter and the son of the widow of Nain; now we just have Lazarus left. Jairus’s daughter had just died, the widow’s son was at his funeral, but Lazarus had been dead four days! As we’ll see, it was a double miracle that Jesus performed.
John 11:1, 3-6, 11-12, 14-15, 19-25, 32-35, 37-41, 43-44. Jesus loved Lazarus, and loved to visit his family. However, when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He didn’t rush off and try to heal him. In fact, He purposely waited until Lazarus was dead, because he had a plan; He wanted to demonstrate something. Therefore, Lazarus had been dead four days by the time Jesus arrived in Bethany. Many of the Jews were there already to comfort Mary and Martha. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she came out and scolded him, “Lord, where have you been? If you’d come sooner, my brother wouldn’t have died.” She implied that when Lazarus was alive, Jesus could have helped him, but not now that he was dead. Jesus told her, ” Your brother will rise again,” but Martha thought that he would rise on the last day, not right then. Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He had life in him right then, and could raise people from the dead. It’s amazing to think of!
Mary also came out and said, “If you were only in time, a little quicker, my brother wouldn’t have died.” This, along with the Jews crying, affected Jesus, and he groaned and wept. He didn’t cry because Lazarus was dead; he was about to resurrect him! He wept when He saw the effect of sin and death. It might be hard to think of the Lord weeping, but he felt compassion and sorrow at times like this. The people saw Him crying and said, “If this man had come earlier, couldn’t He have helped?” They felt that where there was life, there was hope. Now that Lazarus was dead, they had no hope. However, the Lord was about to do something great.
There were two things Jesus did here, and two things he asked other people to do. First, he asked those around to roll the stone away from the cave. Lazarus had been laid in a cave with a stone over the entrance, and Jesus asked them to remove this stone. He had created the world, so it would have been nothing to speak and have the rock move; but instead he asked others to remove it. This startled Martha and she said, “Hold one minute, there’ll be a bad smell!” The Lord didn’t pay much attention to Martha, though, and quieted her down. He was going to glorify His Father, and a bad smell wouldn’t do that. Jesus then prayed in verses 41-42. He had all power and strength, yet he was totally dependent on his Father. What he was about to do would glorify God, just as all we do should.
Jesus then called out, “Lazarus, come forth!” And Lazarus came forth. But he was bound hand and foot with grave clothes. The Lord again directed those around him, “Loose him and let him go.” The Lord didn’t take off the grave clothes, he told others to. If Lazarus was bound, though, how did he come out of the tomb? Did he float? We don’t know; and that’s why this was a double miracle. Jesus gave Lazarus life again, and he resurrected him from the tomb. Lazarus had nothing to do with it. It was a double miracle.
Now, why did Jesus tell others to roll away the stone and unwrap Lazarus? He did what they couldn’t, and didn’t do what they could. If they hadn’t removed the stone, there would have been an obstacle in the way of Jesus’ miracle. In our lives, He asks us to roll stones away and unwrap people. Maybe things we do are obstacles in the way of others coming to the Lord, and we need to stop them. Or maybe others have come to the Lord, but there are still things that they struggle with, or things they don’t understand that hinder them in their walk; things we can help them with. It’s good to be involved in the Lord’s work. We can’t save people, or bring them out of the grave—that’s the Lord’s job— but he allows us to be instruments in His hand.
Colossians 1
Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians were all written in the same place by the same person and roughly around the same time: Paul wrote them while he was in prison in Rome. Each has a very different, but specific purpose. As far as we know, Paul had never been to Colosse, but perhaps he had met some of these Christians elsewhere; we are not told.
In Ephesians, Paul is not correcting anything. He tells them about being seated in heavenly places. In Philippians, he corrects two sisters, telling them to be of the same mind. In Colossians, he corrects two things. He has a burden for the assembly. In Philippians, he puts the Lord as the object or model for us to follow. Here in Colossians, he shows the Lord as the Creator. Another contrast is that in Ephesians, God sees us in Christ, and we are in heavenly places. But this first chapter is a journey toward the One spoken of as “His dear Son” or, as Darby puts it, the “Son of His love.”
Paul introduces himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will God, with Timotheus. This is how Paul always introduces himself. It is by the will or command of God. Moses once asked God, “What if they ask who sent me?” God told him to tell them that I AM had sent him. This showed who the authority was. Paul showed the authority of God: he was not there by man. There have been many Bishops or Archbishops that have been dedicated by man. What are we by the will of God? Romans says we are saints by calling: holy people set apart for God’s purpose. Timothy is a good example for us.
Paul writes this epistle to the faithful brethren in Colosse. He greets them with grace and peace. The Colossians were Gentiles, not Jews. They had been brought from heathenism. For the Jews, grace was the opposite of the law, and peace was foreign to their the legal system. The Jews were used to offering sacrifices to “catch up” on their debt with God. But this greeting can be for us, too.
In the gospels, Jesus said “My God and My Father.” Paul says “God our Father.” This relationship is part of that grace and peace from above. It is a cause for thanksgiving.
Paul was praying always for them. Paul saw the importance of prayer time or prayer meetings. The first part of this chapter has a lot on prayer (v. 4, 5, & 9).
Paul also mentions some priorities that are significant to our pathway: faith, love, and hope. Then he mentions wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to walk worthy of the Lord. He starts with the important things. May the Lord give us to take these things to our own hearts.
Hymn 54 - We know there’s a bright and a glorious home
Prayer