Forward Focus

May 5, 2024

Dave spoke this morning from Philippians 3:12-14 on the forward focus needed in the Christian life. Athletes need that forward focus which includes concentration and dedication to win, but so do we. Salvation is not simply about being rescued from sin; it involves a total transformation. God’s goal is for us to become like Christ and so progress and forward movement are always required on the Christian journey.
It’s easy to live in the past (either dwelling on the hurts and failures which limit us or believing the past was so much rosier than the present.) We must let go of the past and continually pursue Christ, which requires persistence and stamina. We must not be distracted from this aim, reaching forward even into the unknown, pushing forward towards the prize for which Christ has called us.
We can be grateful for the growth we have seen in the past, but need to push on to fresh and new goals. This involves questioning ourselves so that we are prepared to leave behind all that will not serve the purposes of God. Growth may take time, but it is always worth it.

Being Sustained

May 2, 2024

My granddaughter has just discovered the sustaining pedal on the piano. Often called the ‘loud pedal’, it ‘sustains’ all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate freely, creating a richer, more connected sound.
To sustain means to support or to help, and is a word rich in meaning. Psalm 54:4 (written during a difficult time when David was on the run from Saul and his every movement was being reported back to Saul by enemies) says, ‘Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.’ When we face difficult circumstances (illness, bereavement, financial hardship, relationship problems, awkward work situations or anything else), we can know God’s help. He comforts, lifts up, carries us. Ps 41:3 promises God ‘sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.’ Isaiah 46:4 promises God will sustain us ‘even to your old age and grey hairs’, saying ‘I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and will rescue you.’
The promise of being sustained is one that brings hope to a weary heart (Isaiah 50:4). We are sustained according to God’s promise (Ps 119:116) and are reassured that God not only sustains us but sustains all things by His powerful word. (Heb 1:3)
What do we have to do to be sustained? Ps147:6 says, ‘the Lord sustains the humble’ and Ps 55:22 says, ‘Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.’ Humility and dependence on God are all that are required. Ps 3:5 pains a picture of the peace that then comes: ‘I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.’
May our lives be sustained by the Lord so that the music we then sing has the resonance of joy and peace.

Dealing With Despondency

Apr 30, 2024

In our Bible study last week, we looked at how troublesome thoughts can trip us up. (1 Samuel 27) We discussed the powerful effect of our thoughts on our moods and actions. David effectively believed a lie, that Saul would eventually kill him instead of trusting God to be his protector and deliverer, and this led to a period of conflict as he lived under foreign protection and remained a fugitive fighting against his people.

Jeremiah the prophet lived during a time of spiritual idolatry and God’s judgment (which may well resonate with many of us today.) He spoke about the exile and lived through the ravages of war and loss. Unsurprisingly given these circumstances, there were times when his soul was downcast. (Lam 3:19-20)
What do we do with our troublesome thoughts and feelings of despondency? Jeremiah gives us the answer in Lamentations 3:21-24.
He remembers God’s character, word and promises. He calls them to mind (which implies conscious effort, a choice to dwell on God more than on his circumstances.) He thinks about God’s goodness and compassion, about God’s love and faithfulness. He thinks about the grace of fresh starts (‘they are new every morning.’) He does what Paul tells us to do and thinks about good things (see Phil 4:8).
He also talks to himself (something we all do!), but speaks truth: ‘I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him.”‘ (Lam 3:24) He connects what he believes to what he will do.
If we are to win the battle for our minds and hearts, we must do as Jeremiah did and refuse to remain in despondency and despair. We must choose to think of God and to speak truth in our own souls. Instead of fixing our thoughts in a loop of negativity based on the visible, we must fix our eyes, mind, heart and thoughts on Jesus (see Heb 12:1-3). Then hope will arise and we can rejoice, no matter what.

Submission to authority

Apr 28, 2024

Garry continued his series on the church of God tonight, looking further at the question of submission, this time our submission to authority. Submission to God is our voluntary response to Him, and His motives are always pure and for our benefit. Our submission to ruling authorities can either be voluntary or compelled.
Key passages on this topic are found in Romans 13:1-7, Ephesians 6:5-8 and 1 Peter 2:18-19. From these, we see the need to submit to ruling authorities, but this idea of submission no matter what the authorities demand is not found in the Bible. In Daniel 3-6, we see people disregarding laws because these impinged on the Hebrews’ devotion to God. Similarly, the apostles said they must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29); there are instances when to disobey authority is the correct response.
In Ex 1:8-21, we see Pharaoh issuing an edict to midwives to kill all Hebrew male babies. They disobeyed, believing that the sanctity of human life superseded the Pharaoh’s edict. Similarly, the satraps and chief ministers who fooled the king into writing the law that condemned Daniel to the lions’ den could not prevent Daniel from breaking that law; his conscience would not allow him to cease from praying.
Those in authority issue commands, and if these are within what God says, we should obey. This applies to much of our everyday lives (parking rules, speed rules, paying taxes etc.) But there may well come times when we need to disobey the laws of the land in order to submit to the higher authority of God, as citizens in Communist countries such as China have already demonstrated. As our society goes further away from God’s laws, there will be times when we cannot in good conscience obey these and need to take a stand for God against them. Are we prepared to stand for God?

Mind Battles

Apr 25, 2024

We often think of life as a mountain climb, an ascent where we make linear progress to a summit and can ‘arrive’ at a peak with satisfaction. In truth, life is more like a meandering river where there are twists and turns we cannot predict and where our own progress often feels more like two steps forward and one back (on a good day) and one step forward and two steps back (on a bad one!) It can be notoriously difficult to view our own progress and we often feel like we have to learn and re-learn the same lessons over and over again.

 

We have seen David’s growth in mercy and trust as he struggled with Saul’s campaign to end his life and how he spared Saul’s life when he had the opportunity to kill him, not once but twice (see 1 Samuel 24 and 26.) We might be forgiven for thinking that David has reached a good place of trust and confidence in God. But in 1 Samuel 27 we see once again that the real battle takes place not ‘out there’ but in our own minds. David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” (1 Samuel 27:1)

Despite the assurances of Jonathan, Abigail and even Saul that God’s will will be accomplished and he will be king of Israel one day, despite his own confidence that the Lord would deal with Saul, David now ignores the prophetic word of Gad to return to Judah and once more flees to Gath to serve Achish, a foreign king. Pragmatism dominated his thinking. Weary with being on the run, a semi-permanent base in Ziklag seemed preferable to the fugitive life. The plan seemed to work; he ended up respected by Achish at this point. This life seemed easier, somehow, than believing that God would sort it all out in His time.

It can be extremely difficult to wait for the Lord (Ps 27:14). But Paul makes it clear that the spiritual life can only succeed when we take captive every thought to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5) We have to guard against wrong thinking by allowing our thoughts to be founded on truth (see Phil 4:8) and to essentially take down the lies of the world in order to re-wallpaper our minds with the truth. We have to remember the dangers of going it alone and seek the fellowship of others who believe the truth. We must also guard against weariness, especially the weariness of doing good (see Gal 6:9). Elijah, after that great victory over the prophets of Baal, felt exhausted and wanted to die, believing himself to be the only one left on God’s side. It took rest, refreshment and God’s gentle whisper to his soul to remind him of truth. (1 Kings 19) We do well to learn from David and Elijah so that troublesome thoughts don’t cause us trouble too.

 

Finding God’s Will

Apr 21, 2024

This evening we continued looking at how to live according to God’s will. In Colossians 1:9-10, Paul prays, ‘We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.’ (Col 1:9-10) We see from this that to know God’s will fully will mean more than ‘working out’ something according to reason and common sense (useful though these are); we need God’s Spirit to reveal to us the mind of Christ (see 1 Cor 2:13-16).

 

The first step to finding out God’s will in specific areas and circumstances is to ask God for wisdom (see James 1:5). James goes on to differentiate between spiritual wisdom and worldly wisdom in James 3, and we see again the emphasis on spiritual understanding and wisdom. We can’t hope to find out God’s will through rational means alone, for His w ways are often counter-intuitive and paradoxical.

Some pointers to finding God’s will are:

  1. Is what I believe God is saying in line with Scripture? God will not contradict His word. Isaiah tells us to consult God’s instruction; anything else is counterfeit. (Is 8:10)
  2. Confirming circumstances (such as Abraham’s servant experienced in Gen 24 or Paul experienced in Acts 16:6-10) can help us to know God’s will.
  3. Prayer and fasting are key to understanding God’s will, for these spiritual disciplines help us to sharpen our hearing and tune us in to God. Prayer and fasting are ways that we remove the distractions of the world in order to concentrate our minds and spirit on God.
  4. The counsel of the saints can help us enormously as we pray and seek God’s confirmation, but we have to be careful here, as people are fallible and do not always advise us rightly. Nonetheless, it is good to share our situations with others who will pray and seek God for us.
  5. God’s peace is given in many situations where we are seeking to know God’s will to guard our hearts and minds. (Phil 4:7) It is often the ‘green light’ we need to step out into new ventures.
  6. Trusting in God’s sovereignty is ultimately all we can do when seeking His will. Prov 3:5-6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not to lean on our own understanding. When we truly believe God is in control and guiding our paths, then we can rest in His ability to lead and guide us along right paths for His name’s sake.