From Partial To Complete Fulfilment

Dave spoke this morning from 2 Samuel 5:1-5, a very significant passage in the history of David, for it was during this period that he was finally appointed king, first of all over Judah and then over Israel. David, one of the most popular Old Testament characters, may not have got everything right all the time, but he was a man after God’s own heart, and the heart matters to God. David was 30 when he first became king, but then had to wait another 7 1/2 years before he was crowned king of all Israel.

He had not had an easy life, and there was a long period between Samuel’s anointing of him and this moment. During those long years, he not only had to endure problems in his own family (with his brothers scorning him) but also opposition from Saul, who tried on more than one occasion to kill him. David refused to lift his hand against Saul, despite having the opportunity to kill him on at least two occasions. He was prepared to wait for God’s timing. This is a valuable lesson all of us need to learn. Moreover, we have to acknowledge that sometimes we do not always see the promises fulfilled (see Heb 11:39-40); there is a need to wait for the revelation to come to pass (Hab 2:3).

We have seen this in our own church’s history, from the early beginnings in the 1950s when a few people met in rented rooms before believing God and building on Beever Street. Frequently, God’s promises came that these premises were too small, leading to an extension being built and then ultimately to our move to Market Street in 2010. We have seen God do miracle after miracle of provision, but still there is so much more He has promised us. We believe there is much more to come, that this is a period of partial fulfilment of God’s many promises to us, but we long for that complete fulfilment which God has promised and which David saw. May we not grow weary of waiting, but continue in faith as we wait for the appointed time to come.

Ears To Hear

Listening to God is probably the most important thing we can do. John makes this clear in the letters to the 7 churches of Asia where the phrase ‘Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22) is the conclusion to each letter. This merely echoes what Jesus also said when He was on earth (Matt 13:9, Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23-25) and also the message God frequently gave to the prophets (see Jer 23:3-6, Ezek 3:7)
Listening is more than simply hearing; we have a proverb reflecting this when we say something ‘goes in one ear and out the other.’ Ezekiel makes it clear that the problem is often being unwilling to hear what God is saying; Is 28:23 reminds us that we need to ‘pay attention’ to what we hear.
Communication needs active, alert listening as well as articulate, clear speech for it to be successful. If we are to pay attention and really hear God speak to us (something John 10 makes clear is God’s desire for us), then we will have to slow down sufficiently enough to listen and rid ourselves of all distractions. Background noise can crowd out God’s voice; we have to learn to be still before God long enough to hear His gentle whispers to our souls.

Seven Letters To The Churches

A church differs from theme-based clubs in many ways, but the key factor is God’s presence with people. In Revelation 2 and 3, we have 7 letters to churches in Asia, and each letter starts with some aspect of Christ’s presence which was of great relevance to them. Each letter contains His examination of them and warnings and encouragement, concluding with a promise to those who are victorious. Each letter ends with the phrase, “Whoever has ears, let them listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22) Timely advice, indeed!
Though these words were written to specific churches long ago, they are also relevant to us today. They deal with issues of hard work without love, compromise, persecution, indifference and lukewarm attitudes and remind us that we need to do more than merely hear; we need to listen and pay attention to God – and do what He says! His presence with us is what makes the difference and we need to understand that Christ is more than enough to meet every need and every situation at every age in history. A church which fails to heed these challenging words will not last, but we have the promise of help and power from the First and Last and are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Rom 8:37)

Reading the Bible

‘The Message’ paraphrase of the Bible came out of Eugene Peterson’s frustration that so many ordinary people in the United States of America had no real connection with the Bible. As a pastor of a local church, he longed for people to share his love of the Bible, and so he set about translating it into ordinary language they could understand. The Bible – God’s word to us – is worth understanding. It has a revolutionary message of good news; it explains the world as we see it and as we long for it to be; it tells us that God loves us and has done things which can have a lasting impace on our everyday lives if we believe.

All of us at all times need to read the Bible in language we can understand (one reason for the many different versions of the Bible we find nowadays.) There is no point simply admiring the Bible from a distance. It’s a book which needs to be opened, read and re-read, digested and lived out, because it contains God’s heart, the fount of wisdom and the good news that Jesus Christ has made a way for us to become children of God.

Yet few people take the time to read this book and dismiss it as irrelevant or merely of historical interest.

There is little point admiring a beautifully presented meal or a magnificently decorated cake if you don’t then eat the food. The Bible is daily bread for us, nourishing us, nurturing us.

There is little point admiring a glass of ice-cold water in hot weather without imbibing it and being refreshed. The Bible is water for our souls, refreshing us, restoring us.

Don’t leave the Bible as an unopened keepsake on a shelf. It’s not meant for decoration. It’s meant to change the world, one person at a time.

Noah

In Noah, we see one of the first amazing miracles in the Bible: the rescue of Noah and his family from the destruction of the flood. Noah lived in difficult times (Gen 6:5-10) but was able to remain blameless and upright and to find favour with God even in these times of great sinfulness. He is a reminder to us that we don’t have to go along with the crowd, be moved by peer pressure or conform to the world; we can influence others for God and swim against the tide!

God communicated His heart and His plans to Noah, and the fact that God does this consistently with people is a great miracle (see also Ps 103;7, Ps 25:8-9, 14). Jesus said that He was the good shepherd and we, His sheep, know His voice (John 10:2-4). It is a miracle that God communicates with us and has removed all barriers created by sin through the sacrifice of His Son. God spoke with Noah and gave Him the exact plans for the ark (see Gen 6:13-21). Noah had to do more than listen to God, however; he had to mix what he heard with faith and act in obedience. The secret to his success was ‘Noah did everything just as God commanded him.’ (Gen 6:22, see also Gen 7:5) If we want to see God do miracles in our lives, in our church, in our community, then we must be people who hear God speaking to us and who obey Him when He tells us to do something. The church is a God-led community. It’s not about our good ideas or our good works in themselves. It’s about God speaking His life into us and sharing His plans with us and about our response to God.

But of course, Noah had to do his part, and much of that must have seemed ordinary and hard work. Phil 2:12-13 says, ‘continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.’ On the one hand, there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favour and we are saved by God’s grace through faith (Eph 2:8-10), but we also see that there can be a human element to the miracles of God (the boy offering the disciples his picnic lunch and the disciples distributing and collecting food in the Feeding of the Five Thousand, for example.) Noah is an example to us of persevering faith. He worked hard to build the ark and then waited patiently for over a year till all the flood waters finally receded. Much of that time must have seemed dull and mundane, but his ongoing obedience resulted in a new covenant with God and new blessings (see Gen 8:22, Gen 9:8-16). Blessing will always follow perseverance and obedience (see also James 5:11, Gal 6:9)

Changed Joseph

Garry spoke this morning from Gen 42:6-17, the part of Joseph’s story where he meets his brother again. It appears from this passage that this meeting triggered in Joseph a memory of his original dreams. Dreams often seem to die, but at this point, Joseph must have realised that God was working in the situation. God does not forget the dreams, evne if we do!

The situation must have been difficult for Joseph and his reaction seems quite harsh, almost vengeful, even if fully understandable after all his brothers had done to him. Eph 4:17-24 reminds us that our reactions should be different to those of the world. It is easy to appear ‘nice’ for short periods of time, but when the pressure is on or something totally unexpected happens (like the brothers’ appearance), what we find expressed is often our raw reaction, the ‘real’ us. We have to be aware that the enemy is always prowling around, ready to devour us, and must allow our new nature to shine through. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us at such times so that we can reflect our new natures, our changed selves.

Joseph ultimately let go of his bitterness and harsh attitudes and struck a deal with his brothers. (Gen 42:18-20) He was prepared to let the changes God had been working in him to shine through. We must understand the times and allow God’s new nature to shine through us. There must be a difference in how we act!