March 4, 2018
Hymn 38 – The Gospel bells are ringing
Prayer
In the Old Testament, God gave the Children of Israel seven feasts. The first feast was the Passover; at that time they celebrated their protection from God’s judgement by the blood of the lamb. It was a picture of salvation. They were brought out of Egypt, and Jesus brings us out of sin and the world.
On the day right after Passover, the feast of unleavened bread started and lasted for a week. It represents living the Christian life free from sin. At harvest time, they would celebrate the feast of first fruits, and give the first of their crops to the Lord. This was a picture of how Jesus was the first-fruits of the resurrection, so that there could be a crop of souls. Next came the feast of weeks. It was seven Sabbaths and one day after the feast of first-fruits; or fifty days. It was a picture of Pentecost, which means “fiftieth”. God had planned this long before Jesus ever came to Earth.
Acts 2:1-3. The disciples and some other believers (120 people in total) were in a room in Jerusalem, praying. They had been told to wait there because God was going to send them power. Suddenly, they heard a mighty wind from Heaven, and then cloven tongues of fire came to land on each person. They were given power from Heaven as the Holy Spirit filled each believer. This is what we call the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it only happened once. Now, when we get saved, not only do we get Eternal Life, but we also automatically get the Holy Spirit.
0ften, the Spirit uses the word of God to save us, and we get a new life and new power through Him. When we see a baby, we marvel at new life. But if that baby never had the power to move, we would wonder if it was even alive. So if we don’t have new power to live the Christian life, have we ever really been born again?
The people of God were formed into the Church of God (or God’s Body) here at Pentecost. The same Spirit that connects us to God also connects us to each other. And not just the Christians in our meeting, but every believer all over the World!
James 4:12 - 5:6
In Matthew 7 we have “judge not that ye be not judged”. It’s human nature to put one’s self above those we are judging. Scripture does tells us about going to a brother who has not gone the way he should have. We’re not to do it to look better, but to help our brother or sister. We are to go in a humble spirit to glorify the Lord. Sometimes there is a need to judge, but we must also judge ourselves. We must cast the beam out of our own eye first.
It seems that some were heavy into business; putting it as priority. It’s as if they were leaving out God and His purpose and plans. We need to be in dependence on God and put the Lord first above all. How many get into business and it swallows them up. Things can happen quickly; something that you didn’t plan. You have to be in dependence on the Lord for each step. Opportunities and doors that have opened for you are from the Lord. Don’t forget that.
A vapour is gone so quickly. What is our life? At an older age you ask what your excuse is for staying. God hasn’t left us to saturate with work. He has a purpose and plan. Life isn’t forever. We spend a lot of time at work, which is important to make a living, but what is done there isn’t a lasting legacy. What are you investing in? Life is an investment. What is your life?
Darby translates verse fifteen as, “instead of your saying, If the Lord should [so] will and we live, we will also do this or that”. It’s “Lord willing” instead of “I will”. It’s being subject to His sovereign will. He knows the end from the beginning. There was a man who’s horse ran away. His neighbor told him that was bad luck. But the man’s horse returned with twenty other horses. The neighbor declared that this was good luck. The man’s son tried to ride one of the new horses, but was thrown off and broke a leg. This was considered as bad luck. One thing can lead to another. We need to understand things in the light of God’s will.
Verse seventeen sounds very serious. Sometimes it’s hard to know what God wants us to do. But if He has shown us the way, it’s wrong not to follow. We should be in prayer for the Lord to show us what He wants us to do. Even when we are asking for something we should still be asking God to keep us in His will just as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. We need to be waiting on the Lord.
John 15:7
Hymn 350 - I will make you fishers of men
Prayer