October 8, 2017
Scripture:
Read Luke 22:19 & 20, and Luke 23:40 - 43. The Lord gave us these emblems so that we would not forget; He wants us to remember what He did. He will never forget us because of the marks in His hands and feet.
Hymn 329 - A little lamb went straying
Prayer
We’ll keep looking at the topic of diligence today. Last time we gave diligence the short definition of: just do it! Ecclesiastes 9:10. Diligence is focusing and applying ourselves to our jobs.
There’s another, longer definition that we can use for diligence: to accept each task as an assignment from the Lord, and use all my energy to complete it.
Colossians 3:23-24. If we are given bigger, longer jobs to do, we need diligence to keep on doing them. Let’s look at a couple of Bible people who were diligent in completing assignments.
Genesis 6:22. Here we have Noah, and he did all that God told Him to do. He needed diligence in order to build the huge ark. It would have been a hard job, too, because people would have been laughing at him. However, we can turn to God for strength to complete our tasks. God won’t give us a task and no strength for it. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,” Philippians says. Genesis 7:5. Noah is a good example to us. It’s a good idea to think of him when you have a big job, because you’ll probably never have as big a job as Noah did!
Last time we also mentioned Ruth, and how she was diligent to glean in the fields in order to provide for herself and her mother-in-law. She is another good example of diligence.
King Hezekiah was diligent in getting rid of the idols in Judah. 2 Chronicles 29:3. He wanted to honour the Lord. 2 Chronicles 31:20-21. Hezekiah worked with all his heart, and prospered. He is a good example of honouring the Lord, and getting rid of things that don’t honour the Lord. That was his assignment, he was faithful to do it, and the Lord prospered him. If we are diligent, the Lord will prosper us. We’ve seen in Proverbs that the slothful person will become poor. The Lord says, “Those that honour me, I will honour.” Hezekiah and Noah were diligent, and the one prospered, and the other was saved.
Nehemiah 2:8b. Finally, we have Nehemiah. The wall in Jerusalem was broken down, so Nehemiah prayed, and God opened the way for him to go rebuild it. Nehemiah 4:6. The people had “a mind to work.” Nehemiah didn’t want lazy workers, but these people applied themselves to the work, even though some enemies tried to stop them.
Nehemiah 2:21-23. These people were pretty busy! They were working from sun-up to sun-down, were protecting the city, and didn’t even change their clothes unless it was wash day! That’s working hard.
Nehemiah 6:2-3. Nehemiah knew that his work was important, and he didn’t let enemies stop it, or interfere with it. Vv.15-16. It only took them fifty-two days to rebuild the whole wall! God helped them, they worked diligently, were on the job every day, and got it done in record time. Nehemiah 7:5. Nehemiah wanted to honour those that worked and did so well, with God’s help. If we honour God in our work, He will honour us.
Jesus Himself is also a good example of diligence. Even when He was young He wanted to be about His Father’s business. If we do our work as unto the Lord, He will bless us for our faithfulness to Him.
Titus 3:3-15
In verse three we see what we were, and in the next verses we read about what God did to accomplish salvation. Verse seven is the result. Verse three shows us a rather bad picture of those who are not saved. That could be any body. Verse four thankfully begins with “but”. Paul was reminding Titus that God looked down on people difficult to think about and showed them kindness and love. Darby puts verse four as, “But when the kindness and love to man of our Saviour God appeared”. It’s a marvelous thing that joins people with God our Saviour. Those who are under the law are prone to think of earning salvation through works, but it has nothing to do with accomplishing our own salvation. It’s hopeless to try. Our condition is met by God with love and kindness. It has nothing to do with what we can do, but is “according to His mercy”. He didn’t seek to give us what we deserve, but He is merciful and slow to anger. It says He “saved us, by the washing of regeneration.” Mr. Macintosh believed this was associated with new birth. What is regeneration? It probably includes salvation. There are a lot aspects of salvation that are all wonderful, and I sometimes wish God just stated what they all were. These things can be difficult to understand. The only other reference with regeneration is Matthew 19:28, and there it is talking about salvation. But not only is it new birth, but also a new place. Just as new birth has to do with the Spirit of God, so does regeneration.
Renewing sounds as if we already had it. Darby has verse five as, “not on the principle of works which [have been done] in righteousness which we had done, but according to His own mercy He saved us through [the] washing of regeneration and renewal of [the] Holy Spirit”. Darby believed that it wasn’t used for new birth. If salvation was a part of it, it’s new birth plus being brought into a new position. John three tells us we are born of water and spirit. Regeneration seems to be the same except it takes it a little further.
Renewal is not a one time thing. God gives us fresh thoughts and enjoyment. When we are saved the Son of God takes residence inside us. It’s an active power and is there for the purpose of renewing. We’re not left to our own resources. The Lord help us to continue on. Darby translates verse six, “which He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour”. We are His and can anticipate something great because we’re heirs. We’re not hoping; this is the hope. We have eternal life now. It doesn’t stop here. The marvels of His grace pour out onto us, and we get a glimpse of the portion He has for us. Justification is being accounted righteous. There’s no DIY here. Christ died for our sins, and rose on the third day.
Hymn 200 - ‘Tis the hope of His coming
Prayer