Dave spoke from Judges 13:22-24 last night on the theme of how we can know we are saved. Some consider this arrogance, whilst others may feel they lack assurance that the sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient to cover all their sins, but the Bible is clear that confidence and assurance in God’s saving power are the gift of God to all who believe.

Samson was born during the period of the judges, a period when sin would reign for a while and when people called out to God in repentance, He would hear and send them a godly judge to help them:

This passage narrates the circumstances surrounding the birth of Samson, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah and his wife, promising them – despite her barrenness – a son who would be set apart for God (taking the Nazirite vow.) Manoah’s response to these awesome promises and the presence of the angel of the Lord is terror, but his wife reassures him that if the Lord had been going to kill them, He would not have accepted their sacrifice.

1. Accepted sacrifice

The fact that Jesus’s sacrifice has been accepted by the Father (as demonstrated by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead) reassures us that no price for sin will be expected from us, for Jesus has paid that price. Jn 3:16 reminds us of God’s great love for the world and as we look at the Cross, we see God’s work of salvation is complete. The testimony of answered prayer and the knowledge that God has accepted our own offerings to God confirm that Christ’s sacrifice is enough and God is not going to punish us further for our sins, for the Lamb of God has been sacrificed once and for all to pay for sins.

2. Divine revelation

Manoah’s wife also reassured him that God would not have revealed His plans to them if He had intended to kill them. God too has revealed things to us, not to condemn us, but to save us. He has revealed the depth of our sin to us so that the disease can be recognised and ultimately can be cured. He has revealed the shallowness and emptiness of the world to us, showing us that satisfaction is only found in Him. He has also revealed the presence of Christ to us, giving us joy in all circumstances.

3. Divine Promises

Manoah’s wife realised that the promises God made to them concerning Samson meant their lives would be spared to fulfil their role in this great plan. God has given us many great promises, including the fact that He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5) and that He came into the world to save sinners. (1 Tim 1:15) God would not give us so many great and precious promises if His intent was for us to perish.

We need to absorb the truths of the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice and everything promised in God’s divine revelation and promises so that we do not lack assurance but can approach God with boldness and confidence, sure that we are accepted in the beloved.

Psalm 122 looks at the question of why we need gathered worship and how our times together ‘in the house of the Lord’ affect our scattered living (when we are no longer together); it has been described  ‘the song of a person who decides to go to church and worship God.’ (Eugene Peterson, ‘The Journey’, P 35) Many people like the idea of God but don’t see the need for worshipping with others; sometimes this is because they feel that faith is personal and private; sometimes this is because they have been hurt by Christians and no longer want to risk vulnerability and further pain. Church is, however, God’s idea (it is commanded by God as Ps 122:4  and Heb 10:24-25 make clear) and our obedience to God’s commands is proof of our love (see John 14:15).

There is no doubt that church can be difficult, for people are all different and the process of being ‘being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 2:5) takes a lifetime. Nonetheless, there is joy and gladness when we gather together, for we know that God is in our midst (Matt 18:20) and is working His purposes out through us. Jerusalem is described as a city ‘that is closely compacted together’ (Ps 122:3), ‘at unity with itself.’ (Coverdale) Church may well seem like building flatpack furniture unsuccessfully at times, but God is rubbing the corners off each one of us to fit us together perfectly (see Prov 27:17).

Obedience to God means we will be ‘named people meeting in appointed places‘, seeking God in all we do together. Worship, prayer, understanding the Word and fellowship are key elements to our spiritual growth. As we remember all God is and all He has done (see Ps 105:5), our eyes are moved from ourselves to God and He then motivates us to reach out to others. Ps 122:6-9 looks at how our time together spills over into everyday prayer, concerned for the peace, security and blessing of all around us, concerned to be peacemakers and ambassadors for God (see Matt 5:9, 2 Cor 5:19-21). We know that God is the One who is building His church and nothing will prevail against it (see Matt 16:18). Our job is to allow Christ to live in and through us: Christ in us, the hope of glory, shining forth, lighting the darkness, loving through us, using our gifts, talents, personalities and life experiences to point others to Him. May we overflow into our communities and allow God to use us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Christ everywhere. (2 Cor 2:14)

‘Christ is…

… light to enlighten the soul,

… wisdom to counsel the soul,

… power to support the soul,

… goodness to supply the soul,

… mercy to pardon the soul,

… beauty to delight the soul,

… glory to ravish the soul,

… fullness to fill the soul.’ (Thomas Brooks)

It is one of my foundational beliefs that in Christ, we find everything that we need for life. He is our wisdom from God, our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Cor 1:30), as we have been exploring in our Bible studies. He is our sufficiency, our portion, our all in all. Few  of us seem to grasp this truth, however, for we become fond of add-ons to the gospel: ‘Jesus-and…’ For the Galatians, it was ‘Jesus-and-circumcision.’ For the Corinthians, it was ‘Jesus-and-wisdom.‘ Others wanted to chase after power or signs or wonders. Very few of us seem to understand the truth that the ‘abundant life’ promised by Jesus (John 10:10) actually is found in Him alone.

In this quotation from Thomas Brooks, we are given a glimpse into some of the riches we find as we gaze on Christ and abide in Him. (John 15:4)

Jesus is the light of the world. (John 8:12, John 1:5) His light can banish all darkness and illuminate our minds and souls. He gives us ‘enough light for the next step, enough light for the way ahead.’ (‘Enough Light,’ Worship Central.)

Jesus is the wisdom of God personified. (1 Cor 1:30) He gives us advice and counsel, showing us not only the way to live but the right paths to walk (see Ps 119:29-32). He gives us the Holy Spirit to be our Counsellor and Guide. (John 16:13-14)

Jesus is our power source, the One who not only tells us what to do or how to do it, but who also supplies the power to live as He has commanded us. Often we focus on the Holy Spirit as the source of power (see Acts 1:8), but since there is indivisible unity in the Godhead, it is unwise to ‘separate’ God out into ‘component parts.’ All power and authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matt 28:16) and the One who freely laid down His life for us also had the power to take it up again. The same power that rolled the stone away lives in us to strengthen us in weakness and to support our souls.

Jesus is the good Shepherd. (John 10:11) His goodness, that inviolable benevolence which will never harm us, acts as a purifier for us and gives us the pure spring from which we can drink daily.

Jesus is mercy personified, offering forgiveness and purification to all who sin. (1 John 1:8-9) His mercy means the punishment that should rightfully be ours has been taken by Him. There is nothing to fear: ‘I paid the price, so have no fear: there’s nothing but mercy here.’ (‘Come Back Home’, Kutless)

Jesus is beautiful. Though once we could see no beauty in Him and though His face was married (Is 53:2), now in Him we see only the love and acceptance of the Godhead (John 1:18) Song of Songs 5:10-16 gives us a description of Christ’s beauty: ‘he is altogether lovely.’ We are delighted as we gaze on Him.

Jesus is glorious. Every vision of the glorified Lord (seen by Isaiah, Daniel and John, to name but three) focuses on glory, on the sheer majesty and dazzling brilliance of our Lord. We are filled with awe and wonder and immense delight and reverential fear as we see the glory of the Lord.

Jesus is fullness. He fills everything in every way (Eph 1:23) and when we grasp His fullness, we are satisfied.

Last night’s Bible study looked at the topic of spiritual wisdom (1 Cor 2:1-5).  The desire for wisdom was part of the reason for the Fall of mankind (Gen 3:6), but there is a vast difference between man’s wisdom and God’s, as Paul has been expounding in 1 Cor 1:18-25. Human wisdom tends to be arrogant,desiring to know more than God, or even to be God. Wisdom is more than simply knowing facts, but involves applying these things correctly so that life is lived well; human wisdom starts (and ends) without God, but true wisdom starts with God (see Ps 111:10).

Fear of God involves not terror, but respect and awe. It also involves obedience (see Deut 4:1-6). Nowadays, obedience to God is likely to provoke scorn and ridicule, not respect, from others, as people’s hearts are hardened (see Rom 1:22-24). Nonetheless, spiritual wisdom leads to life, and it is imperative to understand life from the perspective of eternity (Ps 90:12), rather than from our own limited perspective. God’s ways and understanding are so much greater than ours since He is eternal, and we do well to heed His advice and commandments, especially when it comes to choosing the way we should live. Paul is adamant that eloquence and sophisticated marketing techniques are not the way to salvation. Christ crucified demonstrates God’s power and wisdom to us in ways that defy logic and reason but which are God’s appointed means of salvation. Despite being a gifted orator and undoubtedly intelligent, Paul chose the way of God-dependence to reach the Corinthians with the message of salvation. That is truly wise, but will always leave us in fear and trembling, for our lives must rest not on human wisdom but on God’s power. As the Message version says, what truly matters is ‘first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.‘

This version goes on to say ‘your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.‘ Manipulation, particularly of the emotions, is always a popular method of appeal; we are in the middle of a general election campaign in the UK, and p0liticians are especially adept at this. God does not manipulate us, however. His wisdom is pure and peace-loving (see James 3:17-18), showing us not only how to know things but how to live well, getting along with people and loving them. (see 1 Cor 8:1) We need to be soaked in God’s Word to know God’s mind, but even the devil knows Scripture, as the temptations of Jesus make plain (Luke 4:1-13) Spiritual wisdom helps us not only to know God’s Word, but to apply it correctly so that we live well.

Your prayers for Steve and Katuska Davies in Mozambique are particularly appreciated at the moment, as tensions rise between South Africa and Mozambique. There have been demonstrations in Maputo following the deaths of some Mozambicans in South Africa and the border post between the two countries was closed for a while last week. As Steve points out,  ‘to an angry Mozambican here, we can easily pass for South Africans; to an angry South African across the border, we’re driving a car with Mozambican number plates.  Either way we’re praying for peace and safe passage!  Please pray with us that calm will prevail.’

Spring is my favourite season. When the coldness and barrenness of winter begin to pass and flowers begin to bud and blossom, there is a real sense of hope which rises in my heart. I think of the words in Song of Solomon which bring encouragement and hope to us after the sterility and apparent deadness of winter:

^‘See! The winter is past;
    the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
    the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.’  (Song of Songs 2:11-12)

Our chillies continue to be the living proof that spring has arrived. Mummy is producing chillies at such a rate we can barely keep up with counting them!

The thing that has gladdened our hearts the most, however, has been the development of Runty’s bud into a real flower:

We await the development of the flower into a chilli, but Runty’s ongoing life reminds us that barrenness does not last forever. As Isaiah reminds us, ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? (Is 43:18-19)

We wait for God’s ‘new thing’ with longing hearts and refuse to believe that winter will have the last word. Just as God’s faithfulness is revealed in the constancy of the seasons (Gen 8:22), we know that He will bring to pass all that He has promised and will do new things in our lives and in the life of our church. Runty’s chillies are taking a lot longer than the others to appear, but we see the signs and know that there is hope. Spring reminds us of God’s faithfulness and that there is a time and season for everything. (Eccl 3:1-8)