The Carpenter's Chapel (7)

Fasting and humility

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” - Ezra 8v21
Ezra was now ready to move forward, but he knew that there would be opposition. He was ashamed to ask the king for protection because he had already told the king that God would take care of them and protect them. There were protected by God’s almighty hand.

Instead of asking for help Ezra called for a fast with two purposes. One was to humble themselves, the other was to seek God’s way for them. Fasting was certainly not only an Old Testament practice. When teaching on fasting Jesus just assumed people were doing it, “When you fast…” He said. For Ezra fasting was a chance for the people to show their humility and to seek God’s way for the nation.

At the end of the fasting and prayer time they could rejoice for He heard their prayer. There is great benefit to be gained through fasting and prayer. The next time we face a situation where we do not know what to do, instead of running and asking someone for help, perhaps we should follow Ezra’s example and humble ourselves in fasting and prayer as we seek His direction.

 

Tuesday April 4, 2006

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him" (I Corinthians 2:9)
This fantastic promise refers back to another great promise given by God to His people: "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him" (Isaiah 64:4).
The Old Testament promise applied primarily to the nation of Israel, but its New Testament extension incorporates it in a global promise to all who love the Lord of glory, "crucified" by "the princes of this world" (I Corinthians 2:8), the One who was also the Savior of the world.
Comparison of the two prophetic promises yields three vital truths. These things that God has prepared for His loved ones have been in view "since the beginning of the world," and have been revealed in part by the prophets, who have been speaking also "since the world began" (Luke 1:70).
Secondly, those who "wait for Him" in the Old Testament are synonymous with those who "love Him" in the New. The apostle Paul joins both themes together when he says: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness...and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing" (II Timothy 4:8).
Finally, we cannot even begin to comprehend the glorious things God has prepared for those who love Him and wait for Him. In some measure, the Spirit later revealed them in part through John's eyes and ears, when he saw "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven," and heard "a great voice out of heaven saying...God Himself shall be with them, and be their God" (Revelation 21:2-3). Then our eyes shall fully see, and our ears hear, and our hearts understand, the fullness of God's love in Christ.

 

Wednesday, 5th April, 2006

You have punished us less that we deserve

“And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;” - Ezra 9v13


Ezra’s prayer of confession is one that we would all do well to emulate. He brings his confession to God with weeping and absolute supplication. There was no excuse, no allowance, and no passing the buck. He called sin sin and realised presented it to God as such. He placed himself and the nation at the grace and mercy of God. He acknowledged that God had punished them less than their sins deserved. At the end of his prayer all he could do was to stand before God and depend on Him.

Do we see sin like Ezra did? I find it way to easy to make excuses for my sins. There seems to always be reason why I do what I do. There is no excuse for sin. Only when we have a proper view of how bad sin is and how holy God is can we take a proper attitude toward our sin.

May we never get caught in the trap of making excuses for our sin. There are none.

 

Amen Roger, Amen.

 

"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began (II Timothy 1:9).
Our "calling" to follow Christ Jesus was not a human decision, and certainly not one based on human works, for it was issued in Christ before He had even created us. In some inscrutable way, we are a part of His eternal purpose, and it was altogether by His grace. We were "chosen...before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love" (Ephesians 1:4).
Our calling is therefore a most "holy calling," that is, a sacred calling to be consecrated and separated unto God. It is, moreover, a "heavenly calling," one originated in heaven, by our heavenly Father, centered in His divine will and purpose. In the Father's sight, in Christ Jesus, we are nothing less than "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling" (Hebrews 3:1).
We should therefore be able to say with Paul: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). The high calling is not quite the same as the holy calling or the heavenly calling, though all are components of one great whole.
The prize toward which we press is the "up calling." We are promised that one day all who are in Christ Jesus, dead or living, will be "caught up together," thereafter to "be with the Lord."
He has called us before the world began, He is calling us daily to a heavenly walk with the Lord, and He will call us up to His eternal presence some day soon.

 

The importance of teamwork

“Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” - Nehemiah 2v20

Everything was in place and the work of rebuilding the city was all set to begin. In spite of the mockery and ridicule Nehemiah told Sanballat and the others that God was going to bless the work and the people were going to get up and go build the wall.

Chapter three is simply fascinating. At first appearance it looks like just a list of a bunch guys building a wall. Yet, at closer examination we can see the kind of teamwork that was taking place. It seems that everyone was there. Here is one example, “…Uzziel, … of the goldsmiths … Hananiah…one of the apothecaries…repaired the wall.” There were priests, government officials, craftsman, and shopkeepers all on the wall doing their jobs. There was a job to be done and everyone did their part.

God’s plan for His work is teamwork. Can you imagine what would have happened if only a few had set out to build the wall, or if everyone just set out on their own instead of planning who would do what.

These were people with a common purpose. They set aside their differences and everyone got to work. I wonder what would happen if God’s people followed that example today?

 

Monday April 10, 2006

"And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father; and I am but a child: I know not how to go out or come in" (IKings 3:7).
When Solomon became King of Israel and prayed this prayer, he was still in his teens. His prayer was for wisdom, and, with the many external enemies of Israel and the complex internal intrigues surrounding him in Jerusalem, he surely needed divine wisdom. God was pleased with this request, and granted it in abundance. This is a great example for teenage believers today, who, all too often, are confident they already are smarter than their parents and teachers, while seeming to care more about pleasure and possessions, or even religious emotionalism, than true wisdom.
God's word has much to say to such young people: "Remember now the days of thy youth" (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Each of us has been created for a divine purpose, and the more years devoted to that purpose, the more fully it can be accomplished.
Note also Paul's counsel to young Timothy: "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." "Flee also youthful lusts." "Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of...from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 4:12; II Timothy 2:22; 3:14-15).
With all the great wisdom God gave him in his youth, Solomon accomplished great things for God, even writing three books of the Bible. Sadly, he was wiser in youth than in old age, whereas many who exhibit great foolishness in their younger years seem to become wiser as they grow older. How much better, however, to seek and apply God's true wisdom to our lives!

 

Tuesday, 11th April, 2006

Should such a man as I flee?

“And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” - Nehemiah 6v11

The more I read about Nehemiah the more I admire him. First he had to deal with a bunch of recalcitrant nobles who not only refused to work, but then complained because they were having to share in the cost and their children were being forced to work.

After he had to deal with that he faced a series of threatening letters from Sanballat and his men. Sanballat said that he simply wanted Nehemiah to come and treat with him over the future of the city. Nehemiah would not go because the work was too important. The fifth letter Sanballat sent was an “open letter” which anyone could read.

The threats continued. Nehemiah did not know it, but there was a spy in his midst. Shemiah tried to get Nehemiah to run and hide in the Temple and lock the doors so that Sanballat could not get to him. This was actually just another attempt to discourage Nehemiah from the work.

Nehemiah’s response was classic – “Should such a man as I flee?” No matter what happened he would not be deterred from his task. Discouragement after discouragement came and Nehemiah just kept on going. He was a tremendous example of the kind of faithfulness God expects.

Whenever we face opposition and attacks, may God give us the courage to say, “Should such a man as I flee?”

 

Wednesday April 12, 2006

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (II Timothy 3:5).
Included in Paul's graphic description of the "perilous" characteristics of the "last days" (not the church age, since the prophesied last days were still future when he wrote of them in his last epistle, II Timothy 3:1-13), is this warning concerning the religious leaders of the last days. They would observe the outward form (church buildings, sacraments, religious services, etc.) of "godliness" (that is, "religion"), but would reject its supernatural aspects. They would desire the trappings of religious professionalism since they would be "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God" (v.4).
Such specifications aptly describe the modern world of scientism and liberal theology, which pervades practically all religious denominations and overlaps with all kinds of liberal social movements (women's liberation, gay rights, "New Age" pantheism, and others). Although these are widely diverse in structure and purpose, they all share one vital feature in common; they reject supernatural Christianity, especially literal creationism. Many liberal preachers give nominal allegiance to the teachings of Christ and the Bible, but they invariably deny the power of God in special creation, as well as the great worldwide miracles of the Bible-the Flood, the dispersion, etc.
This prophecy is not given in Scripture simply as a matter of information. It contains a warning urgently needed by Bible-believing Christians who are under pressure today to compromise with humanistic liberals on this great doctrine of God's creative power. Many have accepted the evolutionary system of "ages geology, and this is tragic and dangerous. Instead of compromising with evolutionary naturalists and religious liberals, as many evangelicals today are inclined to do, Paul warns: "From such turn away!"

 

Thursday, 13th April, 2006

Remember me, O my God, for good

“And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.” - Nehemiah 13v31

Nehemiah had gone from being a simple cupbearer for the king of Babylon to being the legal governor of the restored city of Jerusalem. He had done an amazing work in having the walls built and bringing the city together. In cooperation with Ezra he had seen a great revival in the land.

At the very end of the book he is remembering some of what had happened and he asked God to remember the good that he had done. The idea is that he is asking God to bless his efforts. We see this happening quite often in the Old Testament. Part of the reason of course is that they did not have to comfort of the Holy Spirit to assure them of their salvation. However, there is a principle that we can apply.

Nehemiah did his best and then he left the rest up to God. There is a good pattern here for us as we serve God today. We must do all that we can humanly do for the Lord, then all we can do is to leave the rest with Him.

The question becomes, are we well and truly doing our best for Him? Only then can we step back and ask Him to remember and bless our efforts.

 

Friday April 14, 2006

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (IPeter 1:23)
Everything in this present world is under the "bondage of corruption" (Romans 8:21)-God's great curse because of human sin. Peter stresses that the inorganic world is composed of "corruptible things, as silver and gold" (IPeter 1:18), and so is the organic world, which is based altogether on "Corruptible seed." The term "corruptible" simply means "decaying," and this ever-present corruptibility is essentially what scientists have called the law of increasing entropy.
In the new earth, on the other hand, there will be "no more curse" (Revelation 22:3), and "this corruptible must put on incorruption" (ICorinthians 15:53). Those who will inhabit the new earth will have been "begotten...again...To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away" (IPeter 1:3-4).
Everything in the new earth will be incorruptible. Everything in the present earth is corruptible, with one exception!
It is by that thing that those who are now under the bondage of corruption, are translated into the corruptible world of everlasting righteousness. Through the incorruptible word, the Holy Scriptures, which reveal the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, a believer is born again. "The Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (IITimothy 3:15).
How indescribably precious is our Bible! "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven...Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage or ever...Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever" (Psalm 119:89,111,152). "Heaven and earth shall pass away," said the Lord Jesus, "but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

 

Monday, 17th April, 2006

If I perish I perish

“Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.” - Esther 4v16

Esther and her Uncle Mordecai are interesting figures. Up until this point it appears that they were happy enough to just blend in with the crowd and not “rock the boat.”

However, the day came when Mordecai would not bow down to the Haman. This was the beginning of their troubles. We don’t know why Haman would not bow down, perhaps it was simply pride, but judging by his near contemporaries actions it would appear that he would not bow down because he was a Jew and only God was worthy of his veneration.

Later, when the whole nation of Israel was threatened he went to his niece to ask her to go to the king for them. There is something interesting about her response once she decided to go – “If I perish I perish” was her response. Was it simply national pride and patriotism, or was it a willingness to die for her God? We really don’t know, but regardless she showed a rare courage in her willingness to die. She showed the kind of courage that God’s people need today in the face of tremendous opposition.

 

Tuesday April 17,2006

"These are spots at your feasts of charity, when they feast with you,
feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried
about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead,
plucked up by the roots" (Jude 12).

We often speak of people who have been "born again" through faith in
Christ as being "twice born" men or women. Jude, however, here speaks
Of certain people who are "twice dead." Such people already, Jude says,
"were before of old ordained (or 'forewritten') to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness (or
'anarchy') and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ"
(Jude 4).
Apparently there are some people who, even while still living, have
already been consigned to hell, and thus are not only "dead in
trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1, the innate condition of all men
until they are born again), but twice dead, already participating in the
second death. These are apostate teachers who have known and understood
the gospel of the grace of Christ and have even for a time presented an
outward appearance of teaching and believing Biblical truth-perhaps even
believing mentally that they had become disciples of Christ. But they
became apostates, repudiating true creationism and the doctrines of
salvation by grace through the saving work of Christ their Creator, even
though they had formerly taught these truths. "There remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26) and they are forever apostate.
This description of such teachers in Jude (vv. 4-19) is a searing
condemnation of such deceivers, as well as a sober warning to any who
might be tempted to heed their false teachings. Rather, Jude exhorts us
to "earnestly contend for the faith" (Jude 3).

 

Wednesday, 19th April, 2006

Then Job … worshipped

“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped,” - Job 1v20

Imagine this. You are going about your daily business. You love God and are happy with your family and your lot in life. Things couldn’t be better in the world.

Suddenly you get a phone call – “I hate to tell you this, but the stock market just collapsed, you are wiped out.” When they hang up you check your email and find out that the business associate that you trusted completely has emptied your bank account and skipped town. Then you get a text message on your mobile phone from your accountant who was supposed to have been paying all your bills. It contains the following “Boss, thnx 4 evrythng, CU l8ter ” followed by a visit from a solicitor for one of your many creditors. If that weren’t enough, someone rings the doorbell to tell you that all ten of your children have been killed in a tornado.

Bad day, huh? What would be your first reaction? Would your first response be to go and worship God? “Worship God?!?!” you might say, “How could a worship God then?”

Your question would seem well warranted, yet when Job faced a similar situation the Bible says that he “tore his robes, shaved his head, fell down … and worshipped.” We are reminded that worship is not to be conditional on our circumstances. God is worthy of our worship no matter what has happened. Next time we face a challenge may we consider Job … and worship.

 

Thursday April 20, 2006

"This wisdom descended not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:15)
True wisdom is "from above" and is "pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy" (v.17)
False wisdom, on the other hand, may come from the world outside us ("earthly"), the flesh within us ("sensual"), or the powers of darkness tempting us ("devilish"). All such wisdom leads to "envying and strife...confusion and every evil work" (v.16). Believers, therefore, should be able to recognize the influences of the world, the flesh and the devil.
The good news is that each divine Person of the Tri-une Godhead is on our side. The Father is opposed to the world, the Spirit to the flesh, and the Son to the devil, and they are well able to give victory.
"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him...And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof" (I John 2:15,17). Thus, to overcome the love of the world, we must cultivate the love of the Father in our hearts and lives.
Similarly, to overcome the desires of the flesh, we should follow the leadings and convictions of the Holy Spirit, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other (Galatians 5:17). Therefore, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (v.16).
The devil and his evil hosts use their own dark powers to tempt and destroy the people of God, but "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8). Christ assured Satan's defeat when He paid for our redemption on the cross. "And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15).

 

Friday, 21st April, 2006

Shall we accept good and refuse to accept evil?

“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” - Job 2v10

In the next round of this heavenly battle the Lord allows Satan to afflict Job’s body with terrible, painful boils from head to foot.

With this things get even worse. His wife wonders why he keeps going on with such integrity. Even more than that she suggested that he simply curse God and die.

Job’s simple response is classic – “Should we expect only to receive good from the Lord and not bad as well?” Job understood that God works in ways that he could not hope to understand. He knew that God has every right to give us either good or bad in our perception, it is totally up to Him.

In this entire situation Job did not sin with his lips by blaming God.

There is a saying, “You have to take the bad with the good.” This is true when it comes to God’s dealings. All He does is for ultimate good – even when it does not seem that way to us.

No matter what is happening, let us be sure that we don’t sin with our lips by putting the blame on God.

 

Tuesday, 25th April, 2006

He knows the way that I take

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” - Job 23v10

As Job’s lament and his “friends’” criticism continued he kept looking back and clinging to what we might call “raw faith.” At times he battled with not totally understanding, but still kept his faith in the Lord.

Job rested in the fact that God knew all about what He was going through. He knew that there was a purpose in his trials, and he knew that when the trials were over and God’s work was done he would come through shining like gold purified in a fire.

How easy it is for us to become desperate and despairing when things get tough. We get so focused on how bad it is at the moment that we can forget the eternal value of our trials.

If we could ever learn to just let God mould us and purify us in our trials they would be much more bearable.

Ron Hamilton puts it well in his song “Rejoice in the Lord.”

REJOICE IN THE LORD

God never moves without purpose or plan.
When trying His servant and molding a man.

Give thanks to the LORD, though your testing seems long.
In darkness, He giveth a song.

*Chorus*
O REJOICE IN THE LORD!
He makes no mistake.
He knoweth the end of each path that I take!
For when I am tried and purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

I could not see through the shadows ahead,
So I looked at the cross of my Saviour instead.

I bowed to the will of the Master that day,
Then peace came, and tears fled away!

Now I can see testing comes from above,
God strengthens His children, and purges in love.

My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging, more fruit I will bear.

*Chorus*

by Ron Hamilton

 

Thursday, 27th April, 2006

Wisdom and understanding

“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding”. - Job 28v28

Job had rare insight into the reality of wisdom and understanding. He expressed that they are as rare as silver and gold and that men work hard to find them, Yet, just like silver and gold it is rare to come across a man who has mined wisdom and understanding.

All through our history we have the record of writers, scholars, and philosophers who have sought out wisdom. Their books fill our libraries. Men spend their lives readings and studying the great philosophers of the past, yet still there is a dearth of wisdom and men still cry out for more wisdom and deeper understanding.

Job had it all figured out. Wisdom comes from a reverential fear of God and understanding comes as man departs from evil. It is so simple, and yet so hard for us to grasp.

Wisdom and understanding come down to two simple ideas – trust God and obey Him.

 

My apologies to everyone for missing my turns here. Life is hectic right now. I will be gone now
for nearly two weeks, Lord willing I will be back.

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is
entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God
did from His" (Hebrews 4:9-10)
This is an important New Testament affirmation that God's work of
creation was "finished from the foundation of the world" (Hebrews 4:3).
The reference is to Genesis 2:1-3, where the writer has told us that God
had "rested from all His work which God created and made," thus
completely denying the contention of theistic evolutionists that the
processes of "creation" (that is, evolution) are still going on.
In addition, it makes significant comparison between the believer's rest
and God's rest. The word "rest" here is not the usual word for "rest,"
and is used only this once in the New Testament. It means, literally,
"Sabbath rest," or "keeping of the Sabbath." In the context
of chapters 2 and 3 of Hebrews, the concept of rest is being expounded with several
meanings. The original warning was in Psalm 95:11, where it referred
both too the Israelites entering into the promised land under Joshua and
to God's own rest after His work of creation. Psalm 95 is repeatedly
quoted in Hebrews, where other meanings are also implied: the keeping of
a weekly Sabbath in commemoration of God's rest after creation; the
promised future rest to the world and its believing inhabitants-possibly in the millennium, but certainly in the new earth; and the believer's present spiritual rest after he puts his faith in Christ, no longer trusting in his works for salvation.
With such a rich investiture of meaning in the fact of God's past rest
and the promise of our future rest, it is appropriate that there should be a perpetual weekly commemoration and expression of faith in that rest in every generation, until its ultimate fulfillment in the eternal rest in the New Jerusalem.
In the meantime, we are urged to "labor" to "enter into that rest"
(Hebrews 4:11).

 

Sadly, I will also be in the states for the next three weeks and don't know how much access I will have.