tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50988598024916579592024-03-06T06:20:47.881+00:00The Old Wellsrehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.comBlogger361125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-8714471297250219402016-04-16T18:40:00.002+01:002016-04-16T18:40:30.767+01:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <b>3<sup>rd</sup> April 2016</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Bible Reading:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> <i>John 20:24-31</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The women in
the Easter story were afraid, the soldiers were terrified, the centurion was
amazed, the Jewish leaders were angry, Peter full of regret and Judas in
despair. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas was
doubtful. Maybe this was because of his deep disappointment and he was not
ready to hope again. Or perhaps he was concerned that his friends were facing a
reality that Jesus’ mission was over. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is rather
unfair to link only Thomas with doubt as none of the other followers of Jesus
believed Jesus had risen from the dead at first either. Mary saw the risen Lord but did not believe
until she heard His voice. The two friends on the Emmaus road heard Jesus but
did not recognise Him until they saw Him break bread. None of the disciples
believed the women. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yet although
he was the last disciple to see the risen Christ, Thomas was the first one to
voice the truth that Jesus is God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas doubted
at first but progressed to great faith. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Thomas was candid. </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas would
not believe in the resurrection on the say so of his friends. He was clear
about that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finder
where the nails were and put my hand in his side I will not believe it.”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
(John 20:25)<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Doubt is not always a sign that a man is wrong, it may be a
sign that he is thinkin</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">g.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Oswald Chambers<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Not all doubt
comes from the same source. There is a kind of doubt that is utterly condemned
in the Bible. It is a deliberate denial and resistance <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to God. There
are those who approach the Bible with scorn and blanket assertions that
something is impossible. Their minds are closed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “<i>Doubt
is the sincere question - but unbelief is the unwillingness to hear the
answer.”</i> (Anon)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Bible
calls people who show that unwillingness, “Fools!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“The fool has said in his heart, there is not God.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(</b></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Psalm 14:1)</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas’ doubt
came from a reverence of the truth. Thomas absolutely refused to say that he
understood what he did not understand or that he believed what he did not
believe. He knew he would never still his doubts by pretending they did not
exist. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How much
better to be honest than to profess and insincere faith! Yet Thomas was open
and ready to accept the evidence when he could see for himself. Then he was
humble enough to bow the knee in worship. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Thomas is convinced </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The story of
Thomas bears witness to the fact that honest doubt can grow into full
faith. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Suddenly
without warning Jesus appeared in the room where the disciples had gathered and
He greets them with; </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Peace be with
you.”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(John 20:26)</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is no
rebuke for Thomas. In fact, Jesus was very gentle with him and showed Thomas
the evidence he had asked for. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas’ story
is important because he took a leap of faith and worshipped. Thomas gave up his
own conditions and his own demands and had his eyes opened to the truth that he
was seeing God in the face of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thomas then made
the most amazing declaration for a Jewish man to make. </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“My Lord and my God.”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(John
20:28)</b></span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Greek Old
Testament translated Yahweh as Lord and Elohim as God and were used together to
address the Almighty as Lord God. Thomas was using the same language to address
Jesus as he would have used to address Yahweh! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas had set
the conditions for faith based on miracles - yet he learns that sense and sight
are not the sufficient proofs he thought. His declaration of Jesus as Lord God
was not the result of physical sight but when he believed what he saw he was
given a holy understanding of the significance of what was happening. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “Belief in the resurrected Lord does not
require physical sight or touch of him. It requires spiritual insight into him
and allowing oneself to be touched by him.” <b>(Anon)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jesus
confirmed this by saying, </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Blessed are
those who have not seen and have believed.”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(John
20:29b)</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Thomas was challenged</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas was a
latecomer in believing in the resurrection and had earlier missed out because
he was not with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared to them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are not
told why that was but maybe Thomas did not want to go back to the upper room
with the other disciples to be reminded of their failure and be together with
them without Jesus. What changed his mind and caused him to join in with the
others we don’t know - but Thomas the latecomer did not get left out after all.
This gives such hope to all those who
are slow on the uptake. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At the earlier
appearance of Jesus, Jesus had given the disciples a challenge, </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” <b>(John 20:21)</b></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thomas wasn’t
there for that but I have no doubt that it was a commission for him too. Thomas
believed on and submitted to Jesus as Lord and God. His testimony would be
invaluable in spreading the news that Jesus was alive. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even his
doubts could be used to help others. The fact that he and the others doubted
shows that they only started spreading the good news of the resurrection when
they were sure the evidence was reliable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is reassuring
for us. We who believe, but who do not see in the same way as those first
disciples can know that the accounts of the resurrection were not made by the
gullible but by people who made sure of the facts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We don’t hear
much more of Thomas, except that the other disciples did not treat him with
disrespect because of his early doubts. He became one of the leaders of the
early church, some believe that he was the first missionary to take the gospel
to India. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He obeyed the
commission of Christ and was a true witness. He did not miss out and we don’t
have to either.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">God bless</span></b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><b>Alan </b></span></i></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-51261882609347490042016-04-16T18:36:00.002+01:002016-04-16T18:36:54.716+01:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: yellow; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Easter Sunday 28<sup>th</sup> March 2016 </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: orange;">Theme</span></span>:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b> Resurrection Hope! </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: orange;">Bible Readings:</span></span><span style="color: orange;">
</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Matthew 28:1-10 1 Peter 1:1-9<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Peter
equates hope with the Resurrection of Jesus.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: orange;">1. We need hope in the face of the
inevitability of death. </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Physical death is inevitable for all of us but
when it happens it is a shocking, difficult thing because it means separation
from those we love and because we cannot comprehend what a life beyond this one
will be like, any more than we knew what life in the world we now live in was
like before we left our mother’s womb.
The unknown scares us. On the one hand the thought that we are born,
live and die and that’s it seems so pointless, on the other what if there is a
life beyond the grave but it is one that is empty, barren, full of pain and
loneliness? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Life is just a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to
nothingness. There is no remedy for anything in life. Man’s destiny in the
universe is like a colony of ants on a burning log.”</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Ernest Hemingway</span></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Job asked the question that every human being
has to face. <i>“If a person dies, will they live again?” (Job 14:14).</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is a question that touches on what it means to
be human, how we relate to other humans and how we relate to God. It determines our views on abortion, assisted
suicide and capital punishment. As
humans death bothers us so much that we idolize youth, seek to deny aging,
don’t talk about it and comfort ourselves with such ideas as reincarnation or
spiritualism to make it seem less dreadful.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It could be that the Christians hope of eternal
life is an anesthetic used to numb the pain of death but with no real
foundation.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">However, there is good reason to have hope of
eternal life and the reason for our hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: orange;">2. Our hope in the face of death is
Jesus </span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rather than point people to God for salvation
Jesus called people to himself. In his “I
am” sayings in John he claimed to be the source of light, satisfaction, truth,
fruitful living, guidance and protection and the one through whom reconnection
can be made with God. He also declared
that he even had the answer to death itself when he said, “<i>I am right now, Resurrection and Life. The one that believes in me,
even though he or she dies, will live.
And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all.”</i>
<b>(John 11:25 The Message)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The only way to validate such a claim would be to
die and come back to life again yourself. At Easter we celebrate the belief
that he did just that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Those who deny that this was possible use some of
the following argument. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">a)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus was not dead when placed in the tomb<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus had been flogged, nailed to a cross for six hours. How
did he roll away the stone in that condition? </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The soldiers would not nave let him live otherwise they would
have been executed themselves. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When the soldiers found Jesus had died earlier than expected
one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear bringing a sudden flow of
blood and water. This appears to be the separation of clot and serum, which is
medical evidence that Jesus was dead. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">b)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The disciples stole the
body </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The tomb was guarded by trained soldiers </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is psychologically improbable. The disciples were
depressed and disillusioned at the time of Jesus death. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> It is unlikely that
they would have faced the persecution they did for something for something they
knew to be a lie.<b> </b></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">c)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Others stole the body
stole the body</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Grave robbers would not want take the body and leave the
grave clothes which were the only thing of value in the tomb. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If the authorities had moved the body they would have quickly
produced it to quash the rumour that Jesus was alive. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .75in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">d)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Appearances of Jesus
were hallucinations </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hallucinations normally occur in highly-strung or in people
who are sick or on drugs. The disciples do not fit into any of these
categories. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">People who hallucinate would be unlikely to suddenly stop
doing so. Jesus appeared to disciples on eleven different occasions over a
period of six weeks. The number of occasions and the sudden cessation make the
hallucination theory highly improbable. </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Over 550 people saw the risen Jesus. It is possible for one or
two people to hallucinate. but it is unlikely that 550 people would all share
the same hallucination.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus could be touched; he ate a piece of cooked fish and on
one occasion cooked breakfast for the disciples. He held long conversations with them teaching
them many things about the kingdom of God.</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is unlikely that with their leader a failure the
disciples would have been filled with such enthusiasm and power, even more so
if they had faked the resurrection. The church began with uneducated fishermen
and tax collectors and swept across the whole known world in the next three
hundred years. Millions of Christians from different ages, races cultures, social
and intellectual backgrounds say that they experience presence and power of
Jesus as a daily reality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: yellow; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;"> </span></span><b style="line-height: 115%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: orange;">3. This hope of a secure and better future </span> </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Bible calls Jesus <i>“the
firstborn from the dead.” </i><b>(Colossians 1:18)</b>
Because of Jesus’ resurrection we have a certain hope that even if we die, one
day we will live again. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus was not raised from death just for Himself
but to open the door to life for every man who follows Him. It is first Him and
then us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus said; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>I solemnly assure you that
the one who hears my word and believes on Him who sent me has eternal life, He
does not have to face judgement, he has already passed from death to life.” <b>(John 5:24)</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And
this is a life that lasts forever and is secure <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">that can
never perish, spoil or fade…”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>1 Peter 1:3-4 [NIV]</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our inheritance can't be destroyed, it won't
decay like a piece of overripe fruit, and it won't fade like an old shirt
that's been washed too many times. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: yellow; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange;">4. Our hope gives us new life now </span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
future is secure so the present has meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into
death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.” (</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Romans 6:4)</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many
who have been trapped in sin, who have battled the same sin time and time
again, and have been beaten over and over and over again, sometimes reach the
point where they believe they can never escape but a risen Jesus gives us the
possibility of living in victory over sin in our daily life now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: yellow; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: yellow; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Christ in you the hope of glory!”</span></span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: yellow; color: orange; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Colossians 1:27)</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Easter Blessings </b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Alan and Carol </b></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-89343986196155114372016-04-16T18:20:00.002+01:002016-04-16T18:20:46.948+01:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">Exeter Temple
Message notes</span> – </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Palm Sunday 20<sup>th</sup> March 2016<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">Bible Reading</span>: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Matthew
20:29-21:1</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">Theme</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">: <b>A cry for hope<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Examples of loud cries to God. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jacob.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b>(Genesis
32:22-32)</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jesus and Lazarus. </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> (John 11:38-44) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>What kind of things do
people cry out to God about?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">1. </span></b></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">Personal
help for their need</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Psalms</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Evening and morning and noon I cry out in distress and he hears my
voice.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Psalm
55:17</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hannah</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (1 Samuel 1-20)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">(1 Samuel 1:10)</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Two
blind men </span></b><b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">(Matthew 20:29-34)</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
(v 30)</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The key to the lifting of despair and the beginning
of hope is direction. Hannah pointed her
bitterness of soul towards the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God heard her cry and granted her what she asked of
Him. Jesus was not just moved by the
depression or self-pity of the two blind men. He moved because of their
willingness to come to Him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Both Hannah and the blind men </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">cried out persistently. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">It isn’t that
we need to badger God into helping us but that our persistence reveals <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Calibri Light', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">commitment and faith in God’s ability to meet our
need or we would go somewhere else for an answer!</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What have you
prayed about persistently? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is your
one prayer? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is the one
thing that you go back to time and time again?</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">2. A cry for
salvation </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">A people in slavery longed for freedom and looked
to God to send a Saviour. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers but when we cried out to
the Lord he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>(Numbers
20:<i>16)</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Moses was told that God
is acting because He has heard the cry of Israel. The simple act of their
crying out to God provoked the Lord to action. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“<i>I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the
Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant</i>.” <b>(Exodus 6:5)</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowds
shouted Hosanna, like their ancestors in Egypt they were crying for salvation. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Hosanna means save now!
In the Hebrew </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Hosanna"
always comes from one who is desperate, about a problem which can only be
resolved by the intervention of the King. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The crying out of Hosanna was a cry to God not only to save but to send
them the Saviour promised by the prophets. The people didn’t fully understand
how Jesus would fulfil His role as Saviour, but they were incredibly aware of
their need to be saved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">While many on Palm Sunday probably cried out for
political salvation we now can make an even more accurate application, and cry
out for deliverance from oppressive regime of the evil one, Satan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Is this not a time when
it is right for us to shout Hosanna? Save our marriages, save our families,
save our children, save our communities! In the midst of the biggest migration
of people in Europe because of war and persecution, since the second world war,
is it not time to cry Hosanna? But r</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">ather
than articulate the cry Hosanna, we often stay silent. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"In the
midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering."</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Howard
Hendricks</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We might not have all the answers about the many
problems in our world but we can cry out to God. </span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">3. A cry for
revival </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There is a cry that comes because we see ourselves
and we know that it is us that needs to be changed, to be free. The cry is for our own revival as the people
of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the face of the pilgrims of Jerusalem, shouting
and crying out for salvation, Jesus went to the Temple, the centre of Israel’s
identity, faith and worship and turned it upside down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">When we cry out to God, we must never be surprised
if the first thing he does to bring change to our circumstance or to our world
is to challenge us to change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jim Parisi states that we need revival when any or
all of the following things are true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When there
is complacency, self-satisfaction or satisfaction with the status quo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When we
become a self-serving and not a God serving people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When there is a lack of concern for the lost.<o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri Light', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri Light', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">When we are
hiding or covering secret sins, doing things that we think no one else sees.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When we have
an unforgiving spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">When we are
fill of pride. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Calibri Light"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">If in any
way were are spiritually less that we were.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It doesn’t require us to be courageous or wise, pure or particularly
holy. We don’t have to be smart, or eloquent. Crying out only requires
one thing of us, honesty. Our cry to God, just like Israel’s, flows from an
honest assessment of who we are before God. It requires us to be honest
about our flaws and weaknesses, about our limits and sins. When we cry
out we confess ourselves, we confess who we are and what we cannot do on our
own. And so, it requires us to be honest with ourselves as we speak to
the one who already knows the truth about us anyway.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Steven Hovater <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> “Will you not revive us again
that your people may rejoice in you?
Show us your unfailing love O Lord and grant us your salvation.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Psalm
85:6<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: lime;"><b>Blessings </b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: lime;"><b>Alan and Carol </b></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-15335263561968075872016-04-16T18:14:00.002+01:002016-04-16T18:14:44.079+01:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b>Exeter Temple Message notes:</b></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Mother’s Day 6<sup>th</sup> March 2016</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">Theme</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;">:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Elisha and a widow </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">Bible Reading:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>2 Kings 4:1-17</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
is the story of one mother’s struggle to fulfill her responsibility to her
family. However, the life principles she employed and the ways of God she
learned are good not just for mothers but for anyone in any situation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1 The principle of facing reality and
avoiding self-pity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many
people in debt find it very difficult to face up to and resort to hiding bills
and put off facing up to what is happening to them. There is a pride about us that doesn’t want
somebody else to know how much need we are in. However, given the time, culture
and small community this woman lived in it is unlikely that she could keep her
situation private, even if she wanted to. Her creditors may even have been her very
near neighbours. In desperation she went
to Elisha, the prophet, the man who in her eyes represented God and cried out
to him for help. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
woman reminded Elisha that her husband was his servant and that he had been a
faithful prophet. Implied in her words is anger and confusion about how she
ended up in the position of losing first her husband and now her home and her
children and an implication that Elisha had an obligation to help her. We
should not miss the sense of injustice that she feels. Sometimes we too feel that it isn’t fair that
when we have served God faithfully that bad stuff still happens to us. We feel
justified in feeling self-pity as if somehow we have earned the right to a trouble
free existence. When we do that we miss
out on an opportunity to see God supply all our needs and deepen our
relationship with him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Elisha
did not admonish the woman for her anger or offer platitudes, but in a
practical way led her to take a step of faith that proved to be life changing
for her and for her whole community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">2. The principle of there always being possibilities</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The widow might
have expected that Elisha would pay the debt but instead he asks her for
something. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Tell me what do you have in your house?”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>(v2</b>)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">We
would prefer it when we turn to God for help that there is instant resolution but
rather than ask the woman about what she needed and didn’t have, he asked her
what she already had which was nothing but a little oil. S</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">he thinks this is of no significance at all
because if it had been, the bailiffs would have taken it. Probably she was saving it for her burial,
which she assumed would not be long away, given the depth of her poverty. To her this oil was a symbol of impending doom
rather than something that signified hope. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But the pot of
oil became the turning point in her situation. It is not trite to say that we
should never dismiss anything that God has given us as too small for him to
use. This is a biblical principle and the way God works, for example Moses in <b>Exodus 4:2</b> and a widow in <b>1 Kings 17:12 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If we asked same
question that Elisha asked the widow of Jesus, “What do have in your house?” his reply might have been “I do not even have
a house all I have is this cross.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">3. The principle of obedience</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Elisha instructed the widow to ask all her
neighbours for empty jars. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Why? He probably had a supply of empty jars
in his household but instead he made <i>her</i>
go to all her neighbours. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="color: magenta;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">Faith involves obedience even when we don’t understand </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the poor widow to go out &
appeal to her neighbours was a humbling, embarrassing thing to do in itself. To
ask that she might have their empty oil jars rather than for oil seemed
ridiculous. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">We should admire this woman’s faith.
What Elisha asked of her hard. risked ridicule, anger and further rejection</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> It is the kind of trust that acts in obedience to God when
it makes no sense at all in human terms.
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The Bible is full of commands but very
often they are not accompanied with detailed explanations of how obeying them
will work out. Yet we know that God is
good and we can trust him even when we don’t know where it might lead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The thing that we often have to
overcome is our reluctance to face being laughed at by those who do not have
our hope and our trust in God. The widow
had got to the place where she did not care about saving face but only about
losing her sons. Our priorities change
when we are desperate enough. Our faith
is sometimes small because we really don’t realize the depth of our own
spiritual poverty or how desperate the situation regarding the future of our
mission is, or if we don’t really believe that an eternal destiny devoid of
God’s presence awaits those who do not know the Saviour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If we did would our priorities about
reputation, preferences, comfort change dramatically?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="color: magenta;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">To show her that God can do more than we can ask. </span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She was to
collect all the empty jars possible and then go inside her house, shut the door
and pour oil from her little jar into all the jars. She did as she was told,
even though it must have seemed impossible to fill even one jar, when all that
she had left was such a tiny amount. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">She had to raise her expectations
because God can do what we think is impossible. In fact, he did more than she
asked. In the end not</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> only could she pay the
debt and save her boys from slavery, there was enough for her and her sons to
live on. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“God is able to do
immeasurably more than we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work
within us.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(Ephesians 3:20</b>)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #111111;">-</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"><span style="color: #111111;"> </span><span style="color: magenta;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">To alert the community of the
God they had forgotten </span><span style="color: #111111;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why
did Elisha involve the widow’s neighbours in this miracle?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If the community had been living their lives according to the Covenant
they had with God, then they should have stepped in and sorted this out. In </span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #111111; font-size: 12pt;">involving
the neighbours Elisha was calling the community back to the God, they had
forgotten and reminding them what he was like.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
creditors were coming and they were going to take away this woman’s children
into slavery but this was forbidden in God’s law. This was not supposed to be
allowed to happen in Israel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “If one of your countrymen becomes poor among
you and sells himself to you, do not make him work as a slave.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>(Leviticus 25:35) </b>But this case the creditors were coming to take
this woman’s children and her community were standing by and letting it happen. More than, not letting the widow’s children
be taken into slavery, God’s law demanded that when a person fell into poverty
the whole community should support them. But they were not helping. They had
forgotten God’s laws, they had forgotten him and they forgotten what kind of
God he was. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Elisha,
in making the woman go around and ask for their empty pots, is rallying these
people into remembering their God and their covenant responsibilities. The
impact of the miracle on the community would be immense. It would raise
questions for them all. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What
kind of God do we have, who cares about the needs of a little person like her? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will
he meet my needs like he met the need of the woman? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Could
I have more faith like that of the widow? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If
this is the God we are in covenant with, what does he expect of us? What kind
of people should we be, if we are in relationship with a God like that? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We
need to ask the same kind of questions ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #111111; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>God bless </b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Alan and Carol </b></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-53997389875921902702016-02-20T12:28:00.000+00:002016-02-20T12:28:59.905+00:00 Appointed and Anointed<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;"> </span>Sunday 14th
February 2016 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Bible Reading:</span></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 2 Kings 2:7-15</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The prophet
Elijah knew that his days on earth are nearly over and wanted to prepare
Elisha, his apprentice as his successor. Elijah took Elisha on a tour of the
schools of prophets in Gilgal, Bethel and Jericho and at each place, Elisha was
given the opportunity to settle and refuse that appointment. Elisha refused to
leave Elijah and kept following from place to place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Aware that
something significant was happening 50 prophets also travelled with Elijah,
sensing that they ought to stay near him for final instructions. For Elisha
there was a sense of destiny and that he needed to be alert to what God was
doing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Ready
(v 7)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elisha was on the
brink of his destiny but the fulfilment of it meant the loss of his leader and
mentor. Given that Elijah and Elisha are
prophets it might be expected that a reassuring prophetic word might have been
given to Elijah as it had been given to Joshua when succeeded Moses. <i>“Be strong and very courageous, for the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you go.”</i>
(Joshua 1:9)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But Elisha got
no word. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elisha kept on
following, without incentives, and at the same time was aware that he was never
off duty, rather he was constantly on call, waiting for the signal to move or
act when God said, “I need you now.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our trouble is
we don't serve God consistently. We get
in and out of touch with him and then wonder why we were left behind when he
does a new work or new thing in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Step
out (v8)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Jordan is a
very significant place in the minds of Israel as the river that the people of
Israel had to cross it in order to enter into the Promised Land. Like the Red Sea it had been miraculously
parted the water so the people of God could cross in safety in the time of
Joshua.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Jordan was
always seen as a barrier to be overcome.
It speaks of endings and beginnings, or leaving something behind, in
order to begin something new in fulfilment of the promises of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah
performed another miracle which gave dry passage across the river. But only
Elijah and Elisha crossed over. Unlike the other prophets Elisha stepped into
the river and walked across with Elijah to the other bank, risking that the
waters might return and overwhelm him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For Elijah
crossing the Jordan meant being taken up to heaven- and ending. But for Elisha
it meant relentlessly pursuing his future destiny. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He crossed the
Jordan because he had received God’s call but he had not yet received God’s
anointing. Earlier the prophets said to
him <i>"Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from
you today?"</i> (v.3,5) Elisha's reaction was "Yes, I know. But do not speak of it.” (v 5) It suggests that he was aware of his own
inadequacy for the task. If he didn’t follow Elijah to the Jordan, he
could work but what he did would not be ministry. For Elisha it was better to risk everything
in the hope of getting the Spirit’s anointing than to minister using his own
ideas and human experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not all
activity that is done in the Church, by the church or through the church is
ministry. We can only call something
ministry if it imparts spiritual life to another. It is not that some kinds of activities are
ministry and some kinds of activities are not.
It is not that some roles in the church can be called ministry roles and
some cannot. Ministry happens in all
kinds of ways and through all kinds of people.
It happens when someone or something is empowered to give spiritual
life. So it can happen that in a Church of 4000 people there can be less real
ministry going on than in a church of 40.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For Elisha the
Jordan became the place where he left behind his old way of service, which
relied upon Elijah and sought his own anointing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To go through
the Jordan in a spiritual sense is to die to our old life, to die to self-
reliance to take up a new life empowered by the Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have you been
through your own Jordan or will you forever be just one of the crowd of
religious people, interested in watching revival but not participating
yourself? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We follow Jesus
in this. He went to the Jordan, came out of it and started his ministry in the
power of the Spirit? If Jesus had a “Jordan
experience” we had better have one too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Ask
(v 9-10)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah says to
Elisha, <i>“Tell me what can I do for your
before I am taken from you?”</i> <b>(v9)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The older
prophet gives him the opportunity to voice his dream. And Elisha comes straight
out with it and asks to be equipped for it.
He asks for a double portion. To ask for a double portion was to ask for
the eldest son’s inheritance, to be given a position of responsibility and
authority. This was either the height of
arrogance or it was humble obedience to God and was bolding stepping out in
faith to claim what God promises. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We don’t
receive because we don’t ask, perhaps through some sense of false
humility. Yet God has given us all his
great commission to make disciples of all nations and invites us to wait for
and ask for his power and blessing to fulfill the task. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why don’t we
ask? We think it is rude. We are scared or being disappointed and we
don’t believe it means us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jesus said, <i>“Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and
you will find, knock and the door will be opened.” <b>(Luke
11:9)</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Receive
(v 11-15)</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah’s advice
to Elisha is to keep watching with the eyes of faith. As they were walking
along talking together suddenly a chariot of horses and fire appeared and
separated the two of them and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah and
Elisha are separated. Between them are the fiery chariots and horsemen. In the Bible this picture always represents
the power and presence of God. Now with
eyes of faith, Elisha can see that Elijah’s strength had never been his own
natural talent but he had all the might of heaven with him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah knew
that what made Elijah different was not personality alone but the anointing of
God’s Spirit but now he saw that the same power w available to him too. The horses and chariots were next to him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elisha tore his
clothes in grief at the loss of Elijah but then picked up Elijah’s cloak. In a
daring act of faith, he used it to perform the same miracle that Elijah
performed earlier. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God had used
Moses to part the Red Sea and the Hebrew people were saved from the Egyptians. After Moses died Joshua was chosen to be
leader. Confirmation that God was with
Joshua as the new leader of Israel was given through God using Joshua to part
the waters of the Jordan. In this story that same sign was given to affirm that
God was with Elisha as he had been with Elijah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As the company
of the prophets watched they said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.”
(v 15)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the New
Testament Jesus was taken up to heaven, not in a whirlwind but in a cloud. (Acts
1) There is no mantle falling from His shoulders to the apostles. Instead all of the company, waiting in
Jerusalem are told they will receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon
them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes
upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria
and to the ends of the earth.” </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(<b>Acts 1:8)<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Every believer
is commissioned to go and witness to God's saving grace, to minister in his
name. The Spirit of the Lord that was on
Jesus is poured out on all believers who will receive him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “We
need a HOLY GHOST, FIRE BREATHING, LIFE CHANGING, SIN CLEANSING, DEVIL CHASING,
ABNORMAL, CHAIN BREAKING, BODY HEALING, SOUL FILLING, ANOINTING OF GOD.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i>God bless</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Carol </i></b></span></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-76584314526983548892016-02-20T12:22:00.001+00:002016-02-20T12:25:25.216+00:00Series: The life and times of Elisha 1. No turning back<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: yellow;"><b><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></b></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"> </span><b style="background-color: white;">Sunday 7<sup>th</sup>
February 2016</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">Bible Readings</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">:<b> </b></span><b><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"> </span>1 Kings 19:19-21, 2 Kings 2:1-18</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The role of the prophet
in Israel was to deliver God’s word for specific situations, particularly
political crises, interpreting the meaning of events and proclaiming God’s
will. In time the prophetic role became institutionalized. It formed the third
office of the Hebrew government and many prophets became puppets of the King. Becoming
a prophet had little to do with divine calling, young men could join a school
of prophets as a career move without having any sense of individual calling or
personal encounter with the living God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Today
we still have a remnant of people who get baptized or in our case become
soldiers because it was what their family expected? </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is very difficult to try to live on inherited faith and a number of things tend to happen, the
person eventually encounters God for themselves, they live a dual life, which
often explodes at some point, perhaps in moral failure, some find they can’t
stand their hypocrisy and choose to walk away, others are fine whilst church
life remains comfortable but flee when the hard times come. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">Be faithful through the
drought </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah was the head of a
school of prophets and Elisha was one of his pupils but operated at a time when
the majority of prophets, for political and personal security had adopted the
mix of pagan worship and Hebrew faith that was advocated by King Ahab. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah, however would not
compromise and was persecuted as a result. At times he felt his isolation and despite
the fact that he led a school of prophets who were supposed to be his followers
he says to God, “I am the only one left.” <b>(1 Kings 19:15)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">God reassured him. “<i>There are 7000 in Israel whose knees have
not bowed to Baal and all who mouths have not kissed him.”</i> <b>(1 Kings 19:18)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Among them God told
Elijah to select 3 people to take up significant roles in the life of the
nation. Two were to be kings and one was to be his successor. He was Elisha.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Elisha had remained
faithful to God getting on with the responsibility he had and did that
faithfully until God called him to serve elsewhere. Thought It is often said, it is still true
that that w</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">e need to be faithful in the little
things before we start dreaming about doing great things for God.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Joseph, Daniel
and Paul are all examples of people who had to faithfully serve in the
background before beginning their more public service. Paul spent three years in a
local church before he set off on his missionary journeys. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jesus had the master in
the parable of the talents say to servants who had been good stewards of what
they had been given, “<i>Well done, good and
faithful servant! You have been</i> <i>faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master's happiness!” <b> (Matthew 25:21)</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whilst some churches are
seeing growth most of us have lived with the decline of the Church for many
years now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We must be faithful to
God in the drought as Elisha was. Keep being obedient to God where you are. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elisha could not rely
upon other people to keep his faith alive and healthy. Part of the cost for
Elijah as a leader of the school of prophets was that he would deliver an
oracle and then have to flee into the desert, not knowing when he could return.
This left his school of prophets holding
on, leaderless through a physical and spiritual drought. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Holding on is not about
hanging on in the hope that we can preserve what we know and love. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“If
you love your church more than you love your city you will never have
revival.” (Anon)</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Holding on is about
keeping on believing that the lost can be found, that the prodigal will come
home, that a hunger for God’s word will be evident again, that worship in our
church and others will be more than performance, that fellowship will be deep
and truly inclusive, that radical sacrificial service will be the norm rather
than the exception. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">2. Decide to commit
to the vision</span></b></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elijah symbolically
placed a cloak around Elisha’s shoulders as a sign that he had chosen him as his
apprentice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a moment for a
dream to be born. He wanted not only to be appointed </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">to</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">a position but anointed </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">in</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> a
position. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Some men see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>Robert
F Kennedy</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Do you have a dream,
something in your heart that God has put there?
Do you sense that this might be the time to act upon it? We must move and take action on our
dreams. Nothing will happen until we
begin to move forward. Elisha had to follow Elijah to see his dream
fulfilled. Faith is active not passive.
Time, sacrifice, energy and even money have to be given to it. Elisha destroyed
his farming tools as a sign of his decision to break with the past so that he
would not be tempted to go back on his decision. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many talk with passion
about what is needed to bring change and what needs to be done to replace those
like Elijah whose days are coming to an end. There are not so many who are
prepared to make their dream known and give up their present lifestyle and
commit to a new one. This does not mean that everyone like Elisha has to give
up their day job or in our context that everyone has to become an officer, but
it does mean that the vision God has given you must become your priority. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;">3.
Defend yourself against distractions</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Elisha became Elijah’s
attendant and he was in that position for a long time, watching and learning
from the great man. It is easy to become discouraged having taken a leap of
faith things take a long time to happen. We start to ask, “Did God really say
that to me?” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are distractions
that divert our attention from the fulfilment of our calling. Sometimes these
are from the devil and sometimes God leads us into situations to test our
commitment to our dream. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nearing the end of his
life, Elijah took Elisha on a tour around the locations where his school of the
prophets were based. The trip was designed to give Elisha the opportunity to
opt out for something other than succeeding him. There was an alternative
ministry for Elisha at each place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Gilgal = home - the
chance to go back and train the next generation of prophets, in a place where
he would be honoured. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bethel = a place of spiritual
heritage where Jacob had his dream and built an altar but now true faith needed
to be restored.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jericho = a place with a glorious past but a barren
present. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Each stop offered
appealing ministry opportunities but God had not given Elisha any task than
following Elijah. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How many of us have
stopped along the way? We have not pursued the dream for long enough. We have
allowed things to distract us on our journey, sometimes good things,
justifiable things but they are not the real call, they are not the real dream. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i style="background-color: white;">God bless</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i style="background-color: white;">Carol </i></b></span></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-45768097055099888932016-02-20T12:12:00.001+00:002016-02-20T12:12:42.913+00:00The spirit of the Gospel<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span> 31<sup>st</sup> January 2016<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Bible Reading:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> Galatians
5:13-25</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In striking a match against a damp match box; you don’t congratulate
yourself for the number of marks you made on the side of the box. It’s fire
that you’re after. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There is little point in the Christians in Galatia engaging in
religions activities if they don’t result in a vibrant connection with God,
holy living, inner peace and loving relationships with others. That’s the spirit of the Gospel. It’s the
fire that we are after. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The life of victory comes not from following an external code but from
obeying an internal presence. The Holy Spirit takes the place of the law as the
controlling power in the Christian’s life.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Over selfish desires</span></b></span><b><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">"Live by the Spirit and you will
not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US">Galatians 5:16<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The word desire has become a little debased,
appearing in the titles of cheap romantic fiction or in the headlines of
tabloid newspapers. But desires are not
necessarily wrong. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Jesus expressed his desire as; </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"Father, I want those you have given me to be
with me where I am and to see my glory the glory you have given me because you
loved me before the creation of the world.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b>John 17:24</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Peter wrote </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"As new-born babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may
grow thereby,"</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">1 Peter 2:1-3</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not all desires are bad desires and not all desires that are good
desires have to be what some people would call religious. All of us have personal desires which
contribute to who we are and what we give to the world. To be passive in what you want and to let
others choose for you can be a negation of responsibility, putting the onus of
decision making upon others. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">But
there are some desires that are wrong because they are born out of what Paul
calls the “sinful nature.” This is the
part of us that acts in rebellion against God and insists that it rules our
lives not him. The other </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">characteristic of the sinful nature is that it rebels against other
people having either a higher or equal place to us. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We often call the sinful nature- </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">selfishness.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A desire
becomes wrong when it feeds rebellion against God or when it seeks preference over
others, regardless of how it affects them.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"> S</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">inful desire results
in the sinful behavior listed in Galatians 5:19-21. The Message translation gives the list an up
to date reality; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“It is obvious what kind of life develops our of trying to get your own
way all the time, repetitive, loveless, cheap sex, a stinking accumulation of
mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket
gods; magic show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition;
all-consuming yet never satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love
or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small minded and lopsided
pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone to a rival;
uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If we describe the sinful nature that way, then it is easy to see how
contrary it is to the way of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“Those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b>Galatians
5:24<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In the time
Jesus lived on earth only criminals were condemned to die by crucifixion and
our selfishness is to be treated as a criminal. Death by crucifixion was
lingering but it was certain. When we nailed our selfishness to the cross by
coming to faith in Christ we can put it to death. Of course when a criminal was crucified he
was left to die but soldiers kept guard to ensure no one took him down before
he died. We must leave our old selfish
desires natures on the cross to die and not give in to the cry to let them come
back off every so often. When we do that
we are living by the Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: blue;">Over how we live
</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Spirit doesn’t just deal with our past selfishness but comes into
our lives to take control over how we live day to day. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> “But if you are led by the Spirit you are not
under law.” </span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Galatians
5:18 <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What starts off as something we wanted can become something which
enslaves us and then we battle to change and try to produce right actions
whilst inwardly desiring to do the opposite.
The gospel message is that a person who has the Spirit within finds that
their desires have changed and now they don’t need rules and regulations to
force them to do right, they want to do it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many people were worried that if Paul kept on preaching that people
didn’t need to be controlled by strict religious laws, then chaos would reign
and people would think they could sin in the morning; get forgiven in the
evening and do it all over again tomorrow.
But Paul argues that indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person means
that what you <b>ought </b>to do becomes
what you<b> want</b> to do and what you now
<b>want </b>to do, you<b> can</b> now do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The Holy Spirit
produces in us a desire for God’s way.
We don’t lead him; he leads us. We are being led by him through the
stronger desires he awakens within us. Being led by
the Spirit" stresses the Spirit’s initiative and enablement. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The work of the
Spirit in our lives is not just about eradicating something. It is about
producing something. If our sinful
nature produced that ugly list I read out, the life under the control of the
Spirit produces fruit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <i>“</i></span></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such there is no law.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b>Galatians
5:22-23 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: blue;">Over what lies
ahead</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step
with the Spirit.”</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Galatians 5:25</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Waiting and
walking with a person is a sign of respect, of recognition of friendship. If we applied the
same language to a husband and wife, we could put it, “Since we entered into a
permanent committed relationship with one another let’s consider one another in
the decisions we make and let’s do things together.” </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Exchanging external religion for reliance upon the inward power of the
Holy Spirit is more than a doctrinal procedure it is the beginning of a life of
partnership with him. It means
practicing faith becomes a lifestyle, not an occasional event.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> “Since this is the kind of life we have
chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as
an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts but work out its implications
in every detail of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25 The Message)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It means that we don’t just do our own thing, we find out what the
Spirit wants. This applies to us as
individuals but this is also a corporate aspect to this. As a community of
believers, if we are living by the Spirit, we will not just come up with good
ideas and schemes we will consult the Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Living in step with him means we can never become static. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The imagery Paul uses of life in the Spirit being like a walk shows us
this. Walking indicates a forward movement. Walking with God implies our making
progress or advances in the divine life. Walking, in the very first idea of the
word, seems to suppose a progressive motion. A person that walks, though he or
she may move slowly, still go forward and do not continue in one place. and so
it is with those who walk with God.<br />
<br />
The scriptures indicate that we should be making progress more and more in our Christian
walk<i>. “grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i></i><b>2 Peter 3:18</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Rather than
drift about and vegetate spiritually perhaps it is a time for us to really ask
the Holy Spirit, “Where do you want me to go next with you? Where do you want us to go with you as your
people</span><span lang="EN-US">? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Blessings</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Alan </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-16746865530358644832016-02-20T12:02:00.000+00:002016-02-20T12:02:23.720+00:00The Source of the Gospel<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Exeter Temple Message notes</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">:</span> 24th January 2016</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Bible Reading:</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span> Galatians 3:14 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">God’s plan to redeem fallen humankind
was formed before the world began and was put into operation through Abraham. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">- He
is the ancestor of the Jews (Hebrews) through his son Isaac<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">- Muslims regard
him (Ibrahim) as the ancestor of the Arabs through his son Ishmael<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">- Christians
also regard him as their spiritual father through Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I
will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
<b>Genesis 12:2-3</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> “Your name will be Abraham for I have made you
the father of many nations.” Genesis
17:5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">1. The Blessing of Abraham </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">These 2 promises are known as The
Blessing of Abraham. The scope of this
promise is wider than physical ancestry and its content touches the whole of
human need.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">a) Purpose and
plan </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">God would lead him to the place where
that would be fulfilled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> “Leave your country, your people and your
father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">b) Family </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> “And I will make you into a great
nation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Nation-hood is about belonging and
connecting with other people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">This was especially important to him at
that moment as he was leaving his home and tribe in Ur and the only people
going with him were his wife who was barren and his nephew Lot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">c) Provision </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“and I will bless you.” </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Blessing
infers that Abraham’s needs would be met and that God would not leave him
without help in the new life to which he was called. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">a)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Significance </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“I will make your name great.”</span></i><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Abraham is significant in history. Jews, Moslem’s and Christians all refer to
him as important to the roots of their faith. Abraham’s name is also always
associated with his great faith in God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">b)<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Channel of blessing </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> “You will be a blessing, I will bless those
who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth will
be blessed through you.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">God picked
out one man but there was still scope to touch the wider world as Abraham is
used as a channel of blessing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">2. Receiving the Blessing of
Abraham</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> T</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">he blessing
of God to Abraham was initially passed down the genetic line b</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">ut although God never changed His
mind about blessing the descendants of Abraham, their ability to live under
that blessing was hampered by their refusal to co-operate with God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">God gave them instruction through the
law but although it showed them what they should do, they failed to do it. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">All who rely on observing the law
are under a curse, for it is written “Cursed is everyone who does not continue
to do everything written in the book of the law.” </span></i><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Galatians 3:10</span></b><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Neither
ancestry nor the Law was effective in receiving the Blessing of Abraham because
of the stronghold of sin. Jesus was the
only person who was without sin and was therefore able to fully receive the
Blessing of Abraham. As the Blessed One, he became the channel of blessing by
taking our sin himself, removing the obstacles in the way of our receiving the
Blessing of Abraham. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise
of the Spirit.” </span></i><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Galatians 3v</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">14</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">It is now the
condition of our heart which determines who we are related to. In church we
call people brother and sister because we are all in the same spiritual
lineage. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Through Jesus and by faith we are
connected to Abraham and every promise made to his descendants is ours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“There is neither Jew nor Greek,
slave nor free, male or female for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you
belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the
promise.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">(<b>Galatians 3:28-29) <o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The Promise given to Abraham deals with
the crucial, fundamental needs of all human beings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">a.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Plan and purpose - </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Satisfaction</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">given to God’s people in the Old
Testament is therefore a promise given to you and me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your
paths.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Proverbs 3:6</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Every human beings wants to know the
satisfaction fulfilling their purpose and matching what they do to their gifts
and motivations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">b.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Belonging –
Acceptance </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“You are a c<i>hosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people belong to
God.”</i> <b>(1 Peter 2:9)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">If we are trying to be God we are always going to
be striving to reach an impossible goal, which leaves us feeling unacceptable
and failing. The Blessing of Abraham gives acceptance into a family where we
are welcomed and belong based not upon performance but God’s promises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">c.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Provision- Security</span></b></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> <b>“</b><i>But
my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus.” </i><b>Phil 4:19</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The rebellion against God, which says I want to be
Lord of my own life, is accompanied by the anxiety that I need to provide for
myself. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">d.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Significance</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Human beings need to f</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">eel that their lives matter, that they count for something. Although we may never be famous here on earth, God’s word
tells us that those who trust in Christ have their names written down in the
Lambs book of life. You miss the Blessing of Abraham – you miss what makes life
work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">3.</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Blessed to be a blessing. </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">S</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">ociety always
falls apart when people are consumed with meeting our basic human needs and the
world is tense with people seeking blessing rather than being blessings to one
another. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">G</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">od
doesn’t bless us just to make us happy; He blesses us to make us a blessing.</span><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Abraham was told that the entire world
would be blessed through him. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The Jews were not chosen by God for special privilege, but for special
service. It is the same for Christians and for anybody else who receives
God’s blessing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The gut
instinct of Zacchaeus when he was changed by Jesus was to announce that he
would give back to all those he had defrauded. He didn’t take the
blessing of salvation and pay Jesus, he used his blessing to bless others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">When Jesus
testified to his anointing by the Spirit he also declared the blessings which
would flow out of that to others. <i>"preaching the gospel to the poor,
healing the broken-hearted, delivering the oppressed, announcing freedom for
the captives, sight for the blind and the blessings of God, to one and
all"</i> <b>(Luke Chap 4:18-19).</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The c</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">ommand of Jesus to His disciples before He ascended to
heaven<i> was focussed outward. “You will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”</i> <b>(Acts 1:8)</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Every gift
of the Spirit mentioned in the New Testament epistles is meant to bless others <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“It was he who gave some to be
apostles, some to be prophets some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and
teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of
Christ may be built up….”</span></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;"> <b>(Ephesians 4:11-12)</b><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">We need to
stop looking at everything as consumers.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We are blessed to be a blessing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="color: blue;"><b>Carol </b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-86013071228192700112016-01-19T21:00:00.001+00:002016-01-19T21:00:10.596+00:00The Source of the Gospel<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Exeter Temple Message notes: </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Sunday 17<sup>th</sup> January 2016</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bible Reading: </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Galatians 1:1-12<span style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The gospel
message that it was possible for people from different races and cultures to
belong to God by one simple act of repentance seemed like an amazing act of
generosity to people who had found paganism empty or who had struggled with
slavish obedience to rules and rituals. They joined the church with a sense of
liberation and joy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some of
churches Paul founded became infiltrated by Judaizers who insisted that all
non- Jewish Christians needed to become Jews and abide by Jewish ritual
law. They did not necessarily argue
their case, but set out to discredit Paul by saying he didn’t have apostolic
authority and that he taught an easy message in order to win favour. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul was
concerned that the message of free grace which is the source of the gospel was
being lost. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is
nothing that we can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do
to make Him love us less. Our relationship with God has broken down because of
our arrogance in not giving God His rightful place in our lives. All our best efforts fall short of being able
to put things and right and making them stay right. The gospel says that Jesus
puts things right for us. We are given a
free pardon and His Spirit is placed in our hearts to give us the inward power
to stay faithful and to become all we are meant to be. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every
generation seems to lose sight that this grace is now freely available to all
people. People in churches all over the
world keep falling back into the trap that they somehow have to earn God’s
approval by their own efforts or His acceptance through meeting certain
cultural conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul argues
his case in four ways:</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">This is God’s idea not
mine.</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“I want you to know, brothers that
the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it
from any man not</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> was I taught; rather it was by
revelation from Jesus Christ.”<b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Gal1:11 - 120<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Grace has to be a God thing because people don’t
naturally accept grace or give it. The biggest downfall human beings have is
pride. We hate to think that there is nothing we they can do to save ourselves
and we need to be rescued. The story of
Naaman in 2 Kings 5 is a good example. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Man-made religions emphasize human merit and the
necessity of human works for salvation. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“When a
person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time that
is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for
his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate
recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But
when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves
no award--yet receives such a gift anyway - that is when we talk about the
grace of God. <b>(G.W. Knight, Clip-Art Features for Church Newsletters)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The grace of God means these two things: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1) we do need help, let's admit it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2) the help is there, let's accept it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">2. This is God’s work in my life</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul had been a very religious man who had kept
all the rules but all he had ever done had not been enough to deal with his
heart. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul was the ideal person to demonstrate what the
gospel of grace could do. With his background and with his standing in the
Jewish community Paul was unlikely to have come up with the idea that keeping
the law could not save you. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He says<i>, </i></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I was advancing in Judaism beyond
many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.”<b> (Galatians
1:14)</b></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If Paul had been a Jew who had been brought
before the authorities for under-performance, then it would be easy to see why
he might invent a religion that said he didn’t have to try so hard. But the opposite was true. Paul was good at
religion, one of the best. It was precisely because he had kept every rule that
he knew, that keeping the rules wasn’t enough to restore him to a real
relationship with God. Legalism might make you look good before other people
but in your heart you know that it doesn’t fool God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All that being zealous for religion had done for
Paul was to turn him into a terrorist, but the grace of God had transformed him
and was living proof of what living by grace could do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">3. This is the way to live for God </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many people were worried that if Paul kept on
preaching that people didn’t need to be controlled by strict religious laws,
then chaos would reign and people would think they could sin in the morning;
get forgiven in the evening and do it all over again tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul’s answer was that
the work of Christ is not just about dealing with our past, it is about his
Spirit in the present giving us a new desire to live right. What you ought to
do becomes what you want to do and what you now want to do you can now do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <i>“</i></span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I tried keeping rules and working
my head off to please God and it didn’t work. So I quit being a law man so that
I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how and enabled me to do it. I
identified myself completely with him. Indeed I have been crucified with
Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear
righteous before you or have your good opinion and I am no longer driven to
impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not mine but it
is lived by faith in the Son of God.” <b>(Galatians
2:19-21)</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">4. This is
my question for you</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Paul is not just concerned that someone is
rubbishing his ideas but he has the heart of a pastor. He therefore stops
defending himself and his teaching for a moment and asks them a personal
question. </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After beginning in the Spirit are
you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is always a tendency to create measurable
but man made standards by which we can judge our own and more often others
people’s performance. And in an
environment where we offer acceptance on the basis of performance it is so easy
to think that God accepts us on that basis too. We fall into the I’m doing my
best syndrome. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"<i>Am I
doing enough for God?<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Does God
really accept me? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Could God
make demands on me that I could never meet? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Am I sure
that God will not one day ask me to "pay up" and I will be unable to
do so? <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is it possible that salvation can be so full and
so free?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
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</v:shape><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></span><![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There are so many
evidences of the tenacity of the grip of legalism: Christians who "burn
out" in service; Christians who do not feel that God looks with pleasure
upon them; Christians who ruthlessly judge others as unspiritual because they
don’t conform to the way that we do things around here. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Galatian
Christians had not begun their Christian lives thinking that they must do this
or that to be accepted by God but they had let themselves be sucked into the
culture around them and to distorted messages they were receiving. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Christianity
is not primarily a moral code but grace laden mystery, it is not essentially a
philosophy of love but a love affair, it is not keeping rules with clenched
fists but receiving a gift with open hands.”.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(The Ragamuffin Gospel Brennan Manning.)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>God bless</i></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Alan </i></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-80784234584840183252016-01-09T07:49:00.003+00:002016-01-09T07:49:21.329+00:00The Cause of Christ<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Sunday 3<sup>rd</sup>
January 2016</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Bible Reading</span>: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2 Corinthians 5:11-21<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is there something larger than life; more important than life itself? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To what cause do you give yourself? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As another year ends and a new one begins we do not need to look for a
different cause to commit for this is the highest purpose and one to which God
himself gives to us. </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting men’s sins against them and he committed to us the message of
reconciliation.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>(2 Corinthians 5:19)</b> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To reconcile
means to restore, to bring together, to mend and it is most of all to do with
relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is no
doubt that in our world today there is a need for the repairing of broken
relationships. There are broken bodies, broken dreams, broken homes, broken
lives because at one time there was a break in a relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“God settles the relationship between us and him and
then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world
square with himself through the Messiah giving the world a fresh start but offering
forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is
doing.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <b>(2
Corinthians 5:19 The Message)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To keep committed to this cause we will need the following things:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: blue;">Enthusiasm </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Well we have some
enthusiasm and when our enthusiasm dies I am afraid we shall die too.”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <b>Catherine Booth</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
fact that so many people have supported the Salvation Army as a good cause
during the Christmas season is very humbling. But for each of us the cause of Christ, the
mission of the Salvation Army demands more than making a donation in a
collecting tin.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How easy it is
to recognize the purpose of God to mend broken lives to be a great one but to
respond in a superficial way, that enthuses us for a while but is lost when the
way is not clear or when other demands crowd for attention.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The full quote
about enthusiasm from Catherine Booth says, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“<i>The power of the Salvation Army is not its
enthusiasm; neither does it consist in certain views of truth or in certain
feelings about truth, No! No! It consists in whole hearted, thorough out and
out surrender to God: And that with or without feeling is the right thing. That
is the religion of the Salvation Army.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Bible has
some very strong words to say about being lukewarm. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. I
wish you were either one or the other!” </span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">(Revelation 3:16)</span></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">If Jesus by His
death and resurrection can really mend this broken world then a mere lukewarm
appreciation about it, is confusing, Jesus went as far as to say icy
indifference or active opposition </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">was better than</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> to insult Him by saying we believe in his cause and
yet live indifferently.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Equipment
</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bridge building
costs a great deal of money, time and effort. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bridges link
places that are separated from one another and are a lovely picture of our
cause of reconciliation. Like ordinary bridges there is need for great design
resources, maintenance and investment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And we have it
in Christ. When the Lord saves us He doesn’t just leave it there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still God gives his willing servant <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Full equipment for the task <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Power is found by those who seek it<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Grace is given to those who ask. </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>(SASB34:4)</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul recalled a
time when he and Silas went to the port of Thessalonica to be a messenger of
reconciliation. During the short stay of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica a
thriving church was established. Paul acknowledges that this success was not
because of the cleverness or personality of him and Silas but can only be
explained by the power of the Spirit,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“For our gospel came to you not only in word but also
in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. </span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1
Thessalonians 1:5) </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Building
bridges of reconciliation is never transmitted through unaided personality
alone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Apollos was
eloquent but he preached an incomplete gospel. He was sincere but sincerity was
not enough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Christians at
Galatia fell into the trap of believing they could rely on their own ability.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Are you so
foolish? After beginning with the Spirit are you trying to attain your goal by
human effort?” (</span></i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Galatians
3:3)</span></b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Enrichment
</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much is talked
of in the giving of ourselves to the cause of Christ. It calls for sacrifice
and service. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Dr. David Livingstone was working in Africa, a group of friends
wrote him: "We would like to send other men to you. Have you found a good
road into your area yet?" <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">According to a member of his family, Dr. Livingstone sent this message
in reply: "If you have men who will only come if they know there is a good
road, I don’t want them. I want men who will come if there is no road”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As right as
Livingstone was to seek a people who are prepared for any sacrifice it should
also be remembered that God is not man’s debtor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is
something utterly fulfilling about being part of something great. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Only one who is seized by a great cause has a full
life</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">.” <b>(Anon)</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What greater
cause is there than the cause of Jesus Christ, what greater satisfaction than
seeing it win through. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus took up
God’s cause and in Gethsemane He anguished with where that would lead Him. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It was for the
JOY that was set before Him that He endured the cross.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“There is not real impoverishment in giving <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And not enrichment if I live to take<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For in such taking I would lose more deeply <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But, O what gain to give for Jesus’ sake!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God’s cause
expressed in Christ is not just a campaign of ideas that we seek to put
across. God’s cause has a personal face,
the face of Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is for
Jesus’ sake we serve because He first loved us and gave Himself for us. In
humble adoration we long to serve Him and if we can do that our joy is
unspeakable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We have often
heard people say about various things; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It’s not my concern, I want
nothing to do with it. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">How sad if the same sentiments are echoed
in our Army about the cause of Christ and the concerns connected to it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is God’s
cause? What is God’s concern? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. This verse sums up
the gospel better than any other. And what God does we must do. We must
reconcile between man and God, between man and man and between man and himself.
This is the one business of the Christian. If we are not reconciling, we are
not Christian.” (Dr. E Stanley Jones)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">May we keep
this cause, this concern ever before us as individuals and as people together. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: blue;"><b>God bless</b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Alan</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-28413373577969615352015-12-18T20:48:00.003+00:002015-12-18T20:48:36.643+00:00Of David’s line<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Exeter Temple
Message notes: </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sunday 29th
November 2015</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Bible
Reading:</span> Jeremiah 33:14-16</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“God
never made a promise that was too good to be true”</i> <b>D.L. Moody</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“The
days are coming when I will fulfil the gracious promise I made to the house of
Israel and to the house of Judah.”</i>
<b>(Jeremiah 33:14)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jeremiah
delivered this his message when such a possibility seemed the most remote. Israel had had a civil war, the nation was
divided, they have been conquered, their land but destroyed and their
leadership exiled. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God
has already fulfilled his promise to send a Saviour. Jesus said he would die
and rise again, send his Holy Spirit upon all kinds of people and he did. He
said that we would know the truth and the truth would set us free and millions
testify to that experience. When we are uncertain about whether the promises of
God that we haven’t yet seen fulfilled will ever be is the truth that there are
so many promises that God has already fulfilled and kept. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. A
fallen tree</span><span style="color: red;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“<i>At
that time I will make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line. <b>v15</b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Trees
make for good symbols, they stand for a long time, and many live for a long
time. The name of David was synonymous with power, majesty, stability and
prosperity. However sometimes something happens to a tree and for whatever
reason it is cut down and all that remains is the stump. In the heady days of David’s reign, no one
could imagine anything standing in the way of continued success. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“By
definition the church like any organisation, is just one generation away from
extinction” </i><b>(Anon)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We
might feel we can disagree with this quote in the light of <b>Matthew 16:18</b> <i>“I
will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” </i>But it needs to be remembered that that the
Spirit said to the Ephesian </span><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;">church that if it
did not repent he would remove it</span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">. “I will
come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”</i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b style="font-size: 12pt;">(Revelation 2:5)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The worldwide church
will win through but not necessarily individual congregations. However glorious
their history, each generation must find its own relationship with God.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">David
was a man after God’s own heart but his son Solomon although he remained religious
did not remain loyal to the worship of the one true God. In each generation instead of the royal tree
growing in its relationship with God, the branches were broken off, until all
that was left was a stump. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Towards
the end of his reign the otherwise good King Hezekiah got fooled into revealing
state secrets to Israel’s enemies. When Isaiah found out what had happened he
warned Hezekiah that his complacency about security would result in dire
consequences for future generations. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hezekiah’s
response was not to plead with God to save them but to say “<i>The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,”
for he thought “will there not be peace and security in my lifetime.”</i> <b>2 Kings 20:19</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">His thinking was “as long as it is not in my
life-time I do not need to worry.” Surely this is not a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">godly attitude? It was not an attitude
that Jesus had who on the eve of his own death, did not just pray for himself
and for the disciples but for us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “My prayer is not for them alone I pray also
for those who will believe in me through their message.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>John 17:20<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">2. Signs
of New Life</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 4.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>“I
will make a righteous branch which will <b>sprout</b> from David’s line.</i>” <b>Jeremiah 33:15<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“A shoot shall come out from the stump
of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>Isaiah 11:1</b>
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
mentioning Jesse and not David, Isaiah implies that the dignity of the house of
David is so diminished that it has fallen to the level at which it stood when it
was just the rustic Jesse who bore the honour of the family name<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There
are things in our lives that seemed to be almost beyond hope but somehow when
we thought all was lost, there is a sign of life. In contrast to the dead wood
it seems insignificant, almost incidental. However it has life and therefore it
has the potential to grow. It is almost
unnoticeable at first and only those who are looking really see the
possibilities that there are. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
tender shoot reminds us of the way that God often chooses to work. He allows things to start small from
seemingly weak an inauspicious beginnings. From these small beginnings great
things are grown. The question for us is whether we focus on the dead tree
stump or the living green shoot. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
Branch is not about the good times coming again but is a proper name, for a
Saviour, a Messiah. The coming of this Branch is not a natural out. It is
because God makes it happen. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I will make a righteous branch.” </span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Jeremiah
33:15b<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For
years this did not look like being fulfilled. By the time of the New Testament the
king of Judah was not a descendent of David and was a puppet of Rome. In Nazareth at a time when the line of David
was in total obscurity a peasant family who are his descendants have a son and
they call him Jesus. Something that at first seems so insignificant, hardly
anyone notices is in fact the fulfilment of God’s promise to continue David’s
line and save the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">3.</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;"> <b>A Glorious Branch </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
baby Jesus, was as vulnerable as a new tender shoot but despite incredible
danger the baby Jesus survives and grows to become the Branch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“In that day the Branch of the Lord
shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride
and glory of the survivors of Israel.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">
<b>Isaiah 4:2</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
Righteous Branch is someone who will rule with justice and integrity, <b>Jeremiah 33:15 & Jeremiah 23:5 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
is seen in Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He
has authority <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over
nature by the changing of water into wine, and calming the sea. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over
evil by casting out demons. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over
sickness and disease by giving sight to the blind, by healing the sick<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Over
death when he raised people from the dead. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Over
sin and death forever by his own resurrection</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He has wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> In the temple (Luke 2:47)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> In discussions with scribes who tried to trap him (Matthew
22)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He acts justly <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> the woman caught in adultery – (John 8:3-1)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> the money changers in the temple
(Mark 11:1217)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He
has personal integrity (Hebrews 4:15)</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus
referred to himself as a tree. “I am the true vine and my Father is the
gardener.” (John 15:1) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He
referred to his kingdom as a mustard seen that grew into an enormous tree. (Mark4:30-32)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">He
is the Lord <b>our </b>Righteousness. He
finds a way of imparting his righteousness to us. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><i>“Here is the most radical aspect of God.
This Branch growing out of the stump of Jesse’s shredded family tree would be
put on another dead tree, a cross and from that dead tree blossomed salvation
full and free. God can take a sinner like me, dead in my trespasses and sins,
dead in spirit, dead to the divine and put a new nature in me, making new what
was shrivelled, making alive what was dead, and making time enter all eternity
with rejoicing and weeping for joy.” </i></span><i><b>Anon </b><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>God bless </b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Alan and Carol </b></i></span></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-54526214944092563212015-11-23T15:25:00.004+00:002015-11-23T15:25:51.169+00:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Exeter
Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>Sunday 15<sup>th</sup> November 2015</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Theme:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
<b>Unsung hero - Hezekiah</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Bible
Reading:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>2 Chronicles 29:1-2; 32:1-8, 20-2<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">B</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">y the time Hezekiah took over from his
father, the nation of Judah had had a run of extremely bad leadership. However
in the midst of them there is Hezekiah whom the writer of Kings gives a glowing
report. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that
David his father had done... He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that
there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those
who were before him"</span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(2 Kings 18:3, 5).</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hezekiah
was a reformer whose aim was to restore the people to right worship of the
Lord. His name literally means "God is my strength," <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That
was something that Hezekiah particularly needed to know because at the time
many other kingdoms around Judah had fallen to Assyria the super power of the
day. Israel, the northern kingdom had already been conquered and Judah was
extremely vulnerable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">He had a clear goals</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> “Now I intend to make a covenant
with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger may turn away from
us”.</span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2
Chronicles 29:1)<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He
achieved this aim<i>.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“So the service of the temple of the Lord was re-established.” </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(2
Chronicles 29:35)<i><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> did not just happen </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Without a vision the people
perish.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (<b>Proverbs
29:18)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hezekiah
could have easily embarked on a strategy to rebuild the economy and the
military and to strengthen the political base of a nation that was devastated.
Instead he started at the temple and focussed on spiritual reformation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hezekiah’s
father had nailed the doors to the temple shut but Hezekiah had opened them and
commanded that the temple be cleaned and then used again for the worship of
Yahweh. This would have been an external
gesture if all that happened was the re-establishment of a program.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
addition he called the priests and the Levites to sanctify themselves. He
called for the personal repentance and cleansing of each leader. There had to
be a return to the personal holy living, honesty and integrity among them. We
don’t like to face the fact that we might need to change but we can’t pray for
change in the fortunes of the Corps unless we also pray for God to change us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
temple was cleaned up, and re-consecrated for worship. The Bible, the imagery of sowing seeds,
watering, feeding and waiting patiently for growth is an important aspect of
Christian life but we should not confuse patience with lack of faith that God
can work in a moment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The
imagery of a spark from a fire having an immediate transforming effect is just
as biblical.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Moses was a shepherd in the
wilderness for years but when he encountered the burning bush he almost
immediately returns to Egypt to fulfil his calling.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Isaiah is instantly cleansed and empowered
when an angel touches his lips with a burning coal. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The disciples are changed when the fire of the
Holy Spirit is poured out on them at Pentecost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It
is perfectly possible, in a moment of trust and surrender that our hearts can
be changed.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There needs to be process
and progress but sometimes God is waiting for a yes from us so that He can
immediately bring peace instead of despair, forgiveness where there was guilt,
life where there was death, passion rather than indifference, boldness where
there was fear, unity where there was strife.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">2. He had an evangelists heart </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hezekiah
did not just want the already religious to do their duty properly, he longed
for all of his people to re-establish their relationship to God. He knew that the best way to do that was to
remind people of what God had already done for them. A great way of doing that was to celebrate the
Feast of the Passover. If they
remembered the story of how God had loved them, and shown His mercy and grace
toward them then that would awaken their desire to return to Him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That
is not a bad strategy for evangelism.
People often assume we have to explain complicated theology<b> </b>but there is great value in simply
telling the story of what God has done through Jesus and sharing our testimony.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to
Ephraim and Manasseh inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in
Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel”.</span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (2 Chronicles 30:1)</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">He mobilised couriers to carry the message widely,
to every border. At </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">this time the people
of God were divided into two nations, Israel and Judah and relationships had
not been good. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">P</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">rejudice had grown up between north and south. Hezekiah
could have assumed that the people of the northern kingdom were just not
interested, were just too bad or just too proud to respond to his invitation.
But he made no assumptions. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He
did get a lukewarm response and ridicule from some. There will always be
opposition to the good news. But some did respond and after a slow start, the
first Passover Celebration, was a great success and triggered a turning back to
God. It was the combination of passion and action that was instrumental in the reform
going to go beyond the doors of the temple and out into the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">He was a man of prayer </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of
Assyria came and invaded Judah.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (<b>2 Chronicles 32:1)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Faithfulness
does not mean an end to trouble. In fact it will often lead to suffering. Jesus
told His disciples that they would suffer because of Him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Assyrians threatened to destroy everything that Hezekiah had achieved. Hezekiah was able to hold the threat back by
paying tributes and taxes to Assyria but before long the cities of little Judah
were under attack. Hezekiah did what he could do to protect his people. He built
up the cities walls, he made sure that there was a safe water supply for </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jerusalem
that meant the people could withstand a siege, he used all his powers of
argument to keep the people holding on but there came a point where he had done
all that he could do. Sennacherib also engaged in psychological warfare through
a threatening letter which insulted both God and Hezekiah.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So
many of Hezekiah’s forefathers had opposed the prophets of God but in response
to desperate need Hezekiah partnered with the prophet Isaiah and together, they
cried out in prayer to heaven. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“<i>King Hezekiah and the prophet, Isaiah, son
of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this.”</i> <b>(2 Chronicles 32: 20) </b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We
do believe that prayer works when we are desperate but often our problem is
more that we don’t realize how desperate our need is. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> The Holy Spirit challenged the church at
Laodicea was challenged with these words. </span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You say “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing, but
your do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (Revelation 3:17)</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
desperate, unified prayers of Hezekiah and Isaiah accomplished what seemed
impossible from a human perspective. It is when we recognised that we are empty,
that God is able to act and fill us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After
interceding and crying to heaven, God spoke and Isaiah received this word from
the Lord that Sennacherib of Assyria would defeated. (Isaiah 37:28-29)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What
Isaiah prophesied happened. An epidemic swept through the Assyrian camp, and
overnight they left Judah and returned back to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hezekiah
was good news for his people and for his generation. The words associated with
him are revival, vision, passion, trust and prayer. Those are words that we hope are synonymous
with each of us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Hezekiah’s
secret was that </span><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him.”</span></i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(2 Kings 18:6)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>God bless</i></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Alan </i></span></b></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-78246903898201729522015-11-23T15:19:00.000+00:002015-11-23T15:19:17.394+00:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Exeter Temple Message
notes:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span>8<sup>th</sup>
November 2015</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Theme</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">:</span> <b>Don’t forget </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Bible Reading</span>:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> <b>Deuteronomy 4:1-15 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The name
Deuteronomy means “spoken twice”. Some have called it the “second law” or more
appropriately, the second rendering of the law. The entire book is a reminder
of the truths of God. Deuteronomy does not offer to Israel “new law,” but it
gave a reminder of the established law of God that are given in the previous four
books. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">Despite
their dramatic rescue from Egypt and God protecting and providing for them,
whenever a new crisis arose, the faithfulness of God was forgotten and either
turned to idols or grumbled in despair at their situation. Thus when about to
enter the land that God had promised them, they refused to go in and spent the
next 38 years wandering in the desert.
All that generation died in the desert. The </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">book of Deuteronomy opens with Moses n<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">ear the end of his life speaking to the new generation
who were being called to make the move from the desert and go into the Promised
Land. Moses overall advice is that they
should not forget but remember.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The word
remember or remembrance appears 16 times in the book of Deuteronomy. The people
are called to remember 7 distinct things:
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">To remember the giving of the
Covenant (4:10)</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That God delivered them from slavery (5:5 7:18 16:3)</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That God led them through the
wilderness (8:2 25:17)</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">That they are dependent upon God
(8:18)</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How angry God was over rebellion (9:7 9:27 24:9)</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">To teach next generation (11:2 32:7)</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background: white;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As former slaves to treat all
peoples with mercy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> (15:15 16:12 24:18 24:22) </span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">The first invitation in
Deuteronomy to remember is Chapter 4:1-15<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">BE CAREFUL </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Taking care of a relationship is
connected with remembrance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>“Only be
careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your
eyes have seen….</i><b> V 9</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
advertising if a poster is left in one place too long, it becomes part of the
environment and no one looks at it. It doesn’t mean the message wasn’t good, or
what it revealed on it is unimportant, it’s just that people cease to give
attention to it and then forget what is said. In life we have received revelation from God
and seen him at work but we have a tendency to stop paying attention to it and
then we forget the truth we learned. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">……..
<i>or let them slip from your heart” as long
as you live”</i> <b>V9b</b> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Very few of us, deliberately turn our back on God, we just let the
relationship slip. We so easily do that
with our relationship with our Father God. Without guarding I, paying attention
to it, we forget it in the midst of a clamouring world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">BE CLEAR</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Moses urges Israel to be accurate or to
be clear in their memory or what God has said and what he has done. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>“Do not add to what I commanded and do not
subtract from it but keep the commands of the Lord your God.”</i> <b>V2</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">How quickly
we forget the way God has worked in our lives and how easily we manipulate our
memory to make ourselves look better or the instructions God gave less
demanding.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Book of Deuteronomy is rich in its
call to remember the words and deeds of God, not with nostalgia, not with
sentimentality and not re-interpreted to ease our conscience or fit in with our
prejudice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In v 10-13 the people are to remember
clearly what happened when God gave them the law and the covenant. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></span></span></i><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Revelation </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“<i>Assemble the people before me to hear my words.”</i> <b>V10 </b></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Israel’s
faith was not to be based on a feeling about God but on faithful obedience to
what God had said. Their faith starts in his revelation of himself, not their
idea of what he is like, what he offers and what he requires. The temptation for mankind has always been to
make God in our image. Moses advised them to remember Horeb, a place to which
God called them, where he spoke and they listened. Adjust your thinking to God,
not the other way around.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></span></i><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Invisible but real </span> </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“You heard
the sound of words but saw not form” <b>V12<o:p></o:p></b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why only a
voice?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The constant temptation in the relationship of God with
Israel? It was the longing to have a God they could see and touch. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It would be easy to feel that it would be so much
better if Israel could have a more tangible God. As the people are standing on
the edge of the Promised Land they are entering a land full of a religious
cults which had gods you could touch and looked exciting because they promised
material prosperity, an emotional experience and physical gratification. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> When they remembered Horeb they were to remember
that God is real and he speaks. They are to remember that when he spoke he
offered a precious Covenant relationship with life-giving words to live by. “<i>He
declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments.” <b>V 13</b> <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way
the Lord our God is near whenever we pray to him? What other nation is so</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <i>great as to
have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before
you today?”</i> <b>V7 </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Will we trade in the invisible God who speaks for
the visible gods of this world who have nothing lasting to offer the empty
human heart?</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt;">The visible gods of this world are not just the crystals
and Buddah statues that can be bought in New Age stores in Totnes High Street but
can be comfort blanket habits and compromising so called romantic
relationships.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The Bible shows us that there is something even
greater than Horeb that we need to remember and choose. It is a place called Calvary where a
crucified man speaks life to everyone who trusts in him. The world tempts us to choose something other
than the foolishness of a cross, an empty tomb and the unseen Spirit of God in
our hearts to give satisfaction and hope.
But when we remember, when we draw near to him, we say with Peter, “<i>To whom else sh</i></span><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">all we go? You have the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>words<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>eternal<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>life.” <b>(John 6:68)</b></span></i><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">O love revealed
on earth in Christ<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In blindness
once I sacrificed <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They gifts for
dross, I could not see<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But Jesus gives
me sight of thee.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(Catherine
Baird)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal;"> </span></span></i><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">BE CHANGED </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The question arises, when believers
remember the deeds of God and when God remembers his relation to Israel what
kind of remembering is in view? Is it merely recollection of information about
the past? Or is it remembering the past in such a way that the facts remembered
have some impact on the present. Moses speaks to the people of Israel to help
them live right in the present moment and so that they will be ready to go and <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.05pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Our memories of the past can often be destructive but Scripture
outlines a pattern of remembrance that acknowledges the past in a way that is
inspirational and life-giving for both the present and the future.” </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(<b>John Drane)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">God doesn’t intend
us to live in the past. Looking back at His goodness is intended to root us
firmly in the rich soil of faith, which provides the environment in which we
can grow with Him into new </span><span style="background: white;">things.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>God bless <o:p></o:p></b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Carol </b></i></span></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-76347353356230901202015-11-23T15:11:00.006+00:002015-11-23T15:11:58.315+00:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Exeter
Temple Message notes</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">:</span><b> Sunday 1<sup>st</sup> November 2015</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Theme</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">:
</span><b>‘Instruments in the hands of the Master"</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: orange;">Bible Reading:</span> Various</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Weapons </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Do not
offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness but rather
offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and
offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.” <b>Romans
6:13<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The picture Paul paints in the lead up to this verse is of a
battle with Jesus winning the battle to free people who are held captive by sin
and under the sentence of eternal death. Those who choose to trust Christ can
be set free from a shameful past, they no longer face eternal separation from
God, have hope of a future and no longer have to live chained to sinful
patterns of behaviour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“All your life you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve
started listening to a new Master, one whose commands set you free to live
openly in his freedom!” (<b>Romans 6:13 The Message)</b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the light of Christ’s victory sin no longer has any right to
rule over our lives, so Paul says don’t let it.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Instead we need to give everything we are to God and then instead of
being used for the wrong purposes we can be used for God’s glory as
“instruments of righteousness”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Greek word that Paul uses for instruments is HOPLON which in
the context implies a tool or weapon used for military purposes. We are often
urged to take up the weapons God has provided to fight against evil but here
the idea is that God actually wants to use us as the weapon. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As weapons in his hands we are to be:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A
deterrent</span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is not so much that the devil will be put off doing his work
but that the people whom he seeks to control will see our example </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Available</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We must be in use and readily available. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Usable</span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The devil is going to laugh in our faces if we attempt to frighten
him without the live ammunition of the Holy Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">Vessels
in his household </span> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“In a
large house there are articles not only of gold and silver but also of wood and
clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses
himself from the latter he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy,
useful to the Master and prepared for any good work.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>2 Timothy 2: 20 & 21</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We can be assured that God has created us to be a utensil or
vessel that has a specific purpose in the household of the saints; that is the
Church.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“Each of
us in some ways carries this haunting feeling inside of us that we</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">are worthless.
Each of us at some point in our lives looks around at the competence of people
in this world and compare ourselves to those around us and say there is no way
that I could do that. We regularly
wrestle not with whether or not God has work to be done but whether or not God
is right in asking us to do it.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
<b>Kyle Hite</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paul likens all Christians
to earthenware dishes or clay pots. “</span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But
we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is
from God and not from us”. </i><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2 Corinthians 4:7</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We need to be dedicated and clean. Most of us have some special
dishes that we use only for special occasions. On other days we use our
everyday plates, cups, saucers and glasses. But there are some vessels in our
house that we wouldn’t use to serve food to our guests at all, e.g.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">the dog bowl</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">or a children’s potty. Neither should we attempt to serve God with
lives that are not completely cleansed and dedicated to Him for His use. We
need to consecrate our lives to Him entirely.
In practical terms, that means that we decide to live purposefully to
glorify God in all aspects of our lives. It means we will do our job for His
glory. We will relate to our family for His glory. We will worship for His
glory. We will work in the Corps and in the community for His glory. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s our part but God has His part. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we consecrate ourselves to God entirely, the Holy Spirit will
come to fill us entirely, setting us apart and empowering us to live the life
we have committed to living. We cannot be a useful vessel for God on our own.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We need the Spirit to give us the motivation and the ability to
live for Him. He cleanses us, making us vessels fit for noble purposes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;">A Letter
from God </span> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“But you
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to
God, that you may declare the praises of him who called your out of darkness
and into his wonderful light.<b> “</b></span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> 1 Peter 2:9
<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“But you
are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work,
chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for
him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you - from
nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.” (<b>1 Peter 2:9 The Message)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What kind of instrument is being referred to here is not clear
except that it is one that carries a message.
In our modern times we have a thousand and one instruments through which
messages are conveyed, from a postcard to the wonders of the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">God reassured Ananias that Paul’s conversion to Christ was
genuine. He told him; “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before
the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Acts
9:15)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps it was his own sense of calling to be the carrier of a
message that led him to write</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">s a source
of inspiration to serve God.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><span class="tt" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of
our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not
on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”</span></i></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <b>(2
Corinthians 3:6)</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are many kinds of letters. Dead letters are communications
which due to a faulty address, cannot be delivered. Christians are meant to be
living letters of Jesus Christ, bearing a message of good tidings of great joy
unto all the world. A letter is written to be read. Every Christian should let
his Christianity be visible before the world.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">‘<i>Let your light so shine
that men may see your good works ... and glorify your father which is in
heaven’</i>.<b> Matthew 5:15</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Those who are Christians in name only are simply forged documents
designed to deceive and mislead.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span></i><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“A living
letter is a mind through which Christ thanks, a heart through which Christ
loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, a hand through which Christ helps”</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. <b>George Mueller</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As Christians our message becomes illegible when we live contradictory
lives. The message is obscured if we live one way at church and another way at
home; if we live one way around our church family and another way around our
friends. When our lives are inconsistent we send mixed messages to an already
confused world. The Bible calls us to be steadfast, unmovable always abounding
in the word of God.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Bible teaches us that the only cure for an illegible and
contradictory message is a life of holiness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><i>God bless</i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><i>Alan </i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-8165289486461247842015-11-23T15:05:00.003+00:002015-11-23T15:05:29.831+00:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">Exeter Temple Message
notes</span>: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>25<sup>th</sup>
October 2015 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">Theme:</span> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Dancing to a
different tune</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">Bible Reading</span>: </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Daniel 3:1-12</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nebuchadnezzar
built a huge statue and decreed that when certain music was played everyone
must bow down and worship it. In other words they must dance to his tune or
die. In our modern world there is still
the danger of our being conditioned to dance to the wrong tune. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">V 5 As soon as
</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As
soon as” is a significant phrase. King
Nebuchadnezzar arranged a signal to alert people to conform to his wishes.
Initially this was for the dedication ceremony. However once dedicated the
statue remained. It is unlikely that the
musical signal was a one off. But “as soon as “people heard the signal, they
stopped what they are doing and bowed.
We do not have Nebuchadnezzar orchestrating our corporate responses but
we can all have our own triggers to which we’ve been conditioned. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">The world </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We
can be happy to go along with the Biblical point of view whilst we are in the
majority but “as soon as” we are swimming against the tide of opinion we feel
that we have no choice but to conform to the majority. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> In the story all the people bowed except
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Nobody
else it appears is resisting this decree.
We can understand why. They were a conquered people, a long way from
home. Some Jews were even heard to say, “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a
strange land?”
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As
Christians we are like those Jewish exiles, living in a foreign land. Society mainly runs counter to our faith. The
world thinks one way and the Christian must decide whether to bow to its
thinking or face the consequences. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<pre><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This applies to a whole range of attitudes that the world supports but which is not the way of Jesus Christ. To be a follower of Jesus is to: <o:p></o:p></span></span></pre>
<pre style="margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“give and not to count the cost, fight and not to heed the wounds, toil and not to seek for rest, labour and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do God’s will.” </span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(Prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></pre>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
is opposite to the world’s philosophy that believes everyone has their price,
desires constant attention and demands rewards. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will
we dance to that tune or will we listen to the music of His voice? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">b)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">The flesh</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
we feel strong, positive and comfortable we engage in spiritual pursuits but
for many “as soon as” our bodies demand attention, we can easily abandon the
spiritual and focus on the physical. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Advertisers
use Nebuchadnezzar’s technique all the time. Those jingles get in our heads and help us tune
into the desires of our physical appetites. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
we begin to work live the Christian life we are faced with the problem that
this physical body, has been used by habit to obeying another rule, called
sin. When Jesus delivers us from this
rule, he does not give us a new body, he gives us the power to break and then
re-mould every habit formed while we were under the dominion of sin. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>(See Romans 12:1-2)</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Much
of the defeat in our Christian life comes not because the devil tackles us but
because we have never understood the simple laws of our make-up. We must treat the body as
the servant of Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">c <span style="color: magenta;"> c) the Devil</span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nebuchanezzar
was not out to influence people he was demanding complete compliance to his
wishes and he enforced it through fear.
He not only wanted to be in charge he wanted to exploit and humiliate
his subjects. This is exactly what our
enemy Satan wants to do to the human race. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Nebuchadnezzar used music not just a signal to
begin a ceremony he linked it with the threat of torture and death. He put a fear trigger in place. The people had better learn to recognise it
or lose their lives. Fear would be
enough for them to react instantly to the sound of the music. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On
the surface they act and behave like citizens in lots of cities all over the
word but “as soon as” the horn, the flute and the zither start up, they are on
their knees bowing down to a golden statue.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
Devil loves to do that to us. He wants to bind us to conform to unbiblical
behaviour patterns through fear. On a
day to day basis most of us look like any other Christian but then “as soon as”
our enemy plays his tune and suddenly we bow, we dance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> v 18 <span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">We will not……..</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If
verse 5 begins “As soon as” and indicates failure and defeat v 18 has the
glorious and victorious phrase “but we will not” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
the whole nation there were 3 young men who would not bow. They resisted the music. They would not dance to anyone’s tune but
God’s. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a a)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">They remembered who they were </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We
live in a world where two kingdoms are in conflict, the kingdom of this world
and the Kingdom of Christ. Which one do you really belong to?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “For he has rescued us from the dominion of
darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves in whom we have
forgiveness of sins.” <b>Colossians 1:13</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><b><span style="font-stretch: normal;"> b) </span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">They kept looking at God </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego did not attempt to control the situation because it was
literally out of their hands. They have a choice to make, either bow down to
the wishes of the king and sacrifice their relationship with God or stand for
God and trust Him to deliver. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego let go of the
situation and placed their trust in God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There
comes a moment when we stop trying to work out an escape route and jump off the
cliff, as it were straight into the arms of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">c<span style="color: magenta;"> c) <span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: magenta;">They recognised that they did have a choice</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
the band began to play, the people fell down and worshipped the image. They
thought there was no alternative. But
these three showed that there was. We
mistake what choices there are. We say
things like we have to go with what the world says and change our values. We
say things like my flesh is weak and I cannot help but give into
temptation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">God
has more choices than the devil tells you are available. It’s not compromise or
lose. It’s always trust God and it will
surprise what the Lord can do. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
we refuse to stand for God, we are saying that He is not worthy of our faith.
That he is not able to find a way through.
If we are faithful to God and follow Him, we can’t lose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
the end it was Nebuchadnezzer who stood in awe of God’s power. It was
Nebuchadnezzar who had to change his policy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “Submit to God, Resist the devil and he will
flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
is just what the story literally illustrates.
The three heroes, would only bow to God, they resisted evil and it was
conquered but also in the heat of the fire they were not alone. Looking into the furnace where the three
young men were thrown, the King saw a fourth person, who looked like a son of
the gods.” It is clear that the writer
of Daniel means us to understand that in the midst of this trial the very
person of God stood beside them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After
the crucifixion the disciples locked themselves away in fear but the
resurrected Jesus came and stood among them.
<b>(Luke 24 :36)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
Paul was alone in the prison, facing huge challenges and possible death, the
Lord stood near Paul. (Acts 23:11)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: magenta; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Blessings </b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: magenta; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>Alan and Carol </b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-32106291229137467492015-11-23T14:59:00.000+00:002015-11-23T14:59:30.957+00:00On Parade<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: lime;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">Exeter Temple Message notes</span>: Sunday18th October 2015</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"> Bible Reading</span>: 2 Samuel 6:1-23<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whether to demonstrate
military might, to advertise public events and holidays, or simply to
entertain, parades traditionally have been part of community experience,
probably as far back as 3000 B.C. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">People mostly welcome
parades because they are a diversion from workday life and because often bring
the famous and powerful literally within the reach of the ordinary man. As a
Salvation Army taking our praise out into the street is still something that is
good to do. When we declare the presence
of Jesus out in our community we are attempting to show the person in the
street that they can be in touch with the King of kings in a much greater way
than the public could ever be with royalty on a walk about. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We need to be aware on the
one hand of losing the courage to openly express out faith and on the other of
letting our public expression of faith and worship become empty show. Sometimes we worry more about what other
people think of it than God himself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are times when God
gives us a good review and it is satisfying to know that we have his seal of
approval. However David found himself in a situation where God does not give
his blessing. David found himself puzzled and disappointed until he eventually
he learned how to put things right.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><b>1. Right
Production – Wrong Direction</b></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">David’s decision to move
the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem was a good idea and was what the nation
needed. The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God’s commitment to His people
and theirs to Him. During Saul’s reign this had been forgotten. David felt that
bringing the<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ark to the new capital
city of Jerusalem would be a great way of reminding everyone that God was the
centre of Israel’s life. There was nothing wrong with the idea but the way he
went about it was wrong.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">David made the
transportation of the Ark to Jerusalem a spectacle involving new equipment to
carry the Ark, 30,000 men were hired to escort it along with numerous musicians
and singers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But then as the cart
carrying the Ark came to uneven ground and looked unsteady Uzzah touched the
Ark. Uzzah immediately collapsed and died and the show was off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Nobody had stopped to ask
God about how it was going to get there, who should take it, when it should go
and what should happen. And half way along the road the whole project was over.
It is so easy to assume that what
matters most is what we like best or what we can do best. We see something that
we like doing and bend our goals to fit the activity rather than act in order
to fulfil God’s purpose. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes it is difficult
to know what is right but in David’s case he ignored the guidelines God had
already laid down. Instructions had already been given that the Ark must be
carried on poles, not a cart. Members of the tribe of Levi must carry the Ark
and it must be accompanied by Levites.
(1 Chron 15: 14-16)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If David had obeyed what
he already knew he would have been half way there. And that is a lesson we need
to learn. God will not reveal to us new direction if we don’t follow what He
has already said. If we are not acting in line with what He requires, our
expertise, the size of the impression we make, the publicity that we attract
will be a waste of time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: lime;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Right Script – Wrong Star.</span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">David had to learn the
lesson that all the razzmatazz was in danger of attempting to upstage God who
was supposed to be the centre of attention. The sacred Ark of the Covenant was
being turned into a tribal totem pole. Everything was expensive but it was also
rather vulgar. With God we are not dealing with the village amateur dramatic
society when we encounter God but the author of the play. We must not try to
upstage Him by using our service to focus attention on ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: lime;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime;">Right Question – Wrong Conclusion</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After the disastrous end
of David’s project we are told David was afraid of God and asked; “How can I
ever bring the ark of God to Jerusalem?” It was the right question and if he’d
listened he might have got an answer but instead he answered his own question
and leapt to a wrong conclusion and a wrong interpretation of events. David
abandoned the idea of taking the Ark to Jerusalem and it was left at Obed-Edoms
house to gather dust.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We too easily abandon what
we originally think to be God’s will for us because of one failure. Very often
we simply have to correct something. David thought because he’d got it wrong
once then that was it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Happily he realised his
mistake when he said in </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1 Chronicles
15:13</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We did not enquire of Him
about how to do it in the prescribed way.”</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> He then went on to bring the Ark
back in accordance with the word of the Lord. This time all was well and David
danced before the Lord with indescribable joy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are times when our
immediate reaction is to abandon rather than adjust, to justify ourselves
rather than reform, to nurse injured pride, rather than learn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">David was not the first
person whose offering to God was found to be at first defective and in need of
reform. Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God. Abel’s was found to be
acceptable, Cain’s, was not. We are not told why. What we are told is Cain’s
reaction to the discipline of the Lord. He went out and killed his brother. He
let resentment destroy his desire to worship. David on the other hand, had
enough humility to try again.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At last David forgot about
how good the show was, forgot protocol, threw off constraint and let what was
in his heart express itself in enthusiastic dance. This was no longer about
David, no longer about his plans, the focus had changed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This was a state occasion
and there was the pressure for him to act like a king. He had a reputation to
protect. Instead we are told that David removed his usual kingly attire and put
on the linen robe of a priest. David wasn’t worried about looking like a King,
he was busy being a worshiper. David’s dance was an expression of his unashamed
devotion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When God works in your life
as God worked in David’s experience some people will be inspired by what God is
doing. Others will be convicted and they will mask their personal conviction by
finding something to criticize.in you and attempt to make you feel foolish
about your passion, try to demean it as something naïve and childish. Michal David’s wife despised his passion for
God.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let us not be ashamed that
we love Jesus or allow the cynicism of others to crush our spirits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: lime; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Blessings </b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: lime; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Alan and Carol </b></i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-72001467164433907872015-11-23T14:51:00.001+00:002015-11-23T14:51:37.432+00:00The Trumpets Sound <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Exeter Temple Message notes</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;"><b>:</b></span> Sunday 11<sup>th</sup>
October 2015</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Bible Reading:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Numbers 10<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The two
trumpets were for the quick relay of orders to the camp of Israel. In Israel
there were set days when trumpets would sound.
The people could prepare for those times but the call to move camp or
the call to battle could come at any time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For us there
are prescribed things that are laid down in the Bible that we need to obey but we
need to be alert to what God is leading us to do in the times in which we live.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">A Call to Community </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “Make two
trumpets of hammered silver and use them for calling the community together<b>. V
2 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In our highly
individualistic culture we need to recognise that whilst Christian faith is
personal it is not lived out in isolation but in community. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of our Corps values is
<i>“Engage in authentic Christian fellowship.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is a call was not just to
meet with one another but with God, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“to assemble at the Tent of Meeting”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>v 3 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This tent was the place
where the people met to seek the presence of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When one or two people
come into corporate worship with a holy expectancy it can change the
atmosphere. We imagine that it is the
content of a gathering, music, numbers, preacher’s skill etc. that matter most but
what is offered in a worship meeting is just a doorway. We all need to come with a willingness to
seek God’s presence. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The unique thing about the
people of Israel was that they had a God who could and would communicate with
them. Of other communities it was said: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the
hands of men. The have mouths and cannot speak.”<b> Psalm 115:4<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> “Like a
scarecrow in a melon patch their idols cannot speak.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Jeremiah
10:5) <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In contrast Jeremiah says,
“<i>But the Lord is the true God; he is the
living God.”</i><b> (Jeremiah 10:10)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is why Jesus often
said, <i>“He who has ears, let him hear.” (e.g.
Matthew 13:9)<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>“He who
has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” <b>(Revelation 2:11)</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">A Call to Action </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A distinction was made
between simply blowing the trumpet and sounding a blast. When the blast was
sounding it was a signal to break camp. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>“The
blast of the signal for setting out.”</i><b>
V 6 <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All the tribes moved in
response to the trumpet blast. It would have been disastrous for the unity of
the nation and for the strategy for the conquering of the Promised Land if each
tribe did their own thing, regardless of the direction of the leadership. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Similarly as God’s people
today it is important that our activity is based on more than personal whim but
is a reaction to God’s particular will and purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <i>“Action
without meaning is futile just as thinking without action is sterile.”<b> (Anon)<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes we rush ahead of
God with doubtless sincere enthusiasm but this is not the gravest danger. More often than not we talk about going on
with God but never go. We dream of launching out but we don’t. We soak up the experiences
of others but fear taking the kind of risks they took. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“O God our Father, let us not be content to wait and
see what will happen but give us the determination to make the right things
happen. Whilst time is running out save us from patience which is akin to
cowardice. Give us courage to be either hot or cold, to stand for something
lest we fall for anything.”<b> Peter Marshall <o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">M</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">ore often
than not the blast of the trumpet for the Israelites meant they would soon be
immersed in battle. Theirs was a physical fight to gain occupation of a land.
For us there is a spiritual implication. Christians are called to go and win
over those who are opposed to Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We are sent to
war! We are not sent to minister to a congregation and be content if we keep
things going. We are sent to make war and to stop short of nothing but the
subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus. <b>(</b></span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">William
Booth 1878) </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Many things oppose that
aim. There is a war against selfishness, apathy, division, pride, greed,
materialism, despair etc. Just as ISIS is behind so many terrorist attacks is a
power behind all of these things The Bible calls this enemy the devil and we
are not just expected to ignore him.
Paul tells us to stand against his evil schemes <b>(Ephesians 6:11)</b> and Peter tells us we should resist him. (<b>1 Peter 5:9)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the Old Testament the
trumpet was blasted to send the troops into battles and then another was
sounded to call them home when the battle was over. One day there will be a
trumpet call to tell us that it is time to lay down our arms. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven and
with a loud command with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call
of God and the dead in Christ will rise first after that. We who are still
alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air and so we will be with the Lord forever.” </span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">(1 Thessalonians
4:16-17)</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whilst Paul goes on to say
we should comfort ourselves with these words there is no sense of inactivity
whilst we wait in hope for the glorious day. Instead there is advice to be
alert, self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope
of salvation as a helmet. That sounds like the action of soldiers to me. <b>(1 Thessalonians 5:4-8)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That’s fighting talk. The final trumpet has not yet sounded. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></b></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">The Call to Repent and Rejoice </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Trumpets were used to
alert people that Fasts and Feasts were about to start. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Also at your times of rejoicing-your appointed feasts
and New Moon festivals-you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings
and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God.
I am the LORD your God."</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>(Numbers 10:10“)</b><br />
One feast was actually called the Feast of Trumpets. It called God’s s people to gather together
for spiritual awakening, repentance, judgment, and his enjoyment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This Feast was
held on the first day of the seventh month and ushered in the new civil year. Unlike
our modern New Year's Day celebrations, the Jews used the first day of their
new year for prayer, meditation, and confession. They sought to make a new
beginning with the Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It afforded
the people an opportunity to review where they were with God and if need be
make a new spiritual beginning at the start of a new year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"The victorious Christian life is a
series of new beginnings."</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(Alexander Whyte)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was on the
Feast of Trumpets that Ezra read the Law to the Jews that had returned home to
Jerusalem. As God spoke through his
word, the people began to weep they were so touched by what they had heard and
so began a period of repentance and consecration to put God first in their
lives again. <b>(Nehemiah 8)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We do not have to wait for
New Year to make a new beginning with the Lord today. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There were battles to be
won and at times a need to get on their knees in confession, repentance and
consecration there was also always much to celebrate. God had done marvellous
things for them which they must always remember. Even when life was tough, God
was tougher and that was something to celebrate. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus used the imagery of
feasting to describe his rule. New life in him was as full of blessing as a sumptuous
banquet. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Human beings are very
choosy about who they celebrate but the Bible makes it clear that God’s
blessings should be shared. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the OT festivals many festivals
included in the invitation to the poor, the widow, the orphan, the traveller
and the foreigner despite their ability to contribute much. (<b>Deuteronomy 16)</b> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jesus makes it clear that
the life he offers with all its blessing is not just for those of us who think
we deserve it but for everyone who will come to him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are some bugle calls
that some soldiers can ignore. They are
particularly for officers and sergeants, but others when they are sounded are
for everyone. The call of the trumpets
we have thought about this morning are to all people. They mean you and they mean me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Blessings </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"><b>Alan and Carol </b></span></i></span></div>
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rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-32445924288716007622015-11-23T14:46:00.002+00:002015-11-23T14:46:18.286+00:00<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Exeter Temple Message notes</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: <b>20th September
2015</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Theme:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>Jump in</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Bible Reading</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">: <b>Ezekiel 47:1-12</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Water
in the Bible is representative of the Spirit of God and in this vision the water flowing from the throne of God
represents the Holy Spirit being poured out into the world and transforming it.
The Spirit of God is a Spirit of grace and love. Wherever the Spirit goes,
grace and love will flow too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
river flows out of the temple from the south side or the right side of the
altar. In the Bible the right hand side was seen as the anointed side, the side
of power and strength. The right hand of God is where Jesus is right now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“After me will come one more
powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and
untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
(</span></i><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mark 1:7-8)</span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jesus said, “If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>(John
7:37)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
water began as a trickle, like water being poured from the neck of a small
flask or bottle. As it runs from under
the Temple threshold the trickle became a stream, then the stream became a
creek, then the creek became a river then the river became a torrent, a mighty
flow of water to deep and strong to wade across.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">History
shows us that this is the way the Holy Spirit was received by the world. In the Old Testament the Spirit came in a
limited way and touched a few people, like prophets, priests and kings to fulfil
a task; we see an increase in the activity of the Holy Spirit in the lives of
people around the birth of Jesus and then with the day of Pentecost, the Spirit
is poured out to all who would receive him. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
fulfilled the promise that God gave to Joel that <i>“I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” <b>(Joel 2:28)</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spiritually
speaking we live in a time when the river is in flood. The river is flowing, the river is here. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>1. Jump in</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ezekiel
first saw the waters but he did not go into the water alone. He says <i>“The man brought me back to the entrance of
the temple and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple.”</i>
(v3b)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Who
was the man in Ezekiel’s vision?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look
back to <b>Ezekiel 40:2-3</b> “<i>In visions of God he took me to the land of
Israel and set me on a high mountain on who south side were some buildings that
looked like a city. He took me there and I saw a man whose appearance was like
bronze; he was standing on the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in
his hand.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
apostle John had a similar vision on the island of Patmos, <i>“And among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a
robe reaching down to his feet, with a golden sash round his chest. His head
and hair were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were like blazing
fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace and his voice like the
sound of rushing waters.” <b>(Revelation 1:13-15)</b><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It
is generally agreed that the man is a vision of the victorious Christ leading
people into immersion in the life of the Spirit. This is about being led to some new style of
worship or denominational emphasis. We
can’t have Christianity without the Holy Spirit. We can’t have revival without him and we will
never be free, full or fruitful until we get into this gracious river. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s
no good as Salvationists that the outward ceremony of baptism is not a
necessity because Jesus came to bring the inward reality of baptism in the
Spirit if we don’t claim it ourselves.
Our stance on sacraments only stands if we live a baptised in the Spirit
life and our life really is Christ’s broken bread and out-poured wine!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">2. Go deeper </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So
often we have become too afraid to give our all to Jesus Christ. We reason
within ourselves that, if we don’t commit to the work fully then we won’t be
found guilty of failing in our commitment to Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Many
step into the water, get their feet wet. At this point in our walk with the
Lord we still behave the way we want to but </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Ezekiel gives a picture of a person who had gone so far from the shore
that he could no longer walk back. The current was so strong and the volume of
water was so great that Ezekiel was in over his head. Still God was carrying
him and there was no danger of the Prophet drowning. God was still in control
of the water and of the life of the prophet. <br />
Most Christians will never experience the joy, fulfilment, trust and love for
God that comes with this kind of commitment because they love the safety of the
shore too much. Revival isn’t for the ankle-deep people, because they will
never catch the vision for what God wants to do. They will never have complete
trust and faith in God to accomplish those things that seem so impossible. They
will only sit by and grumble because the corps isn’t growing or because they
don’t “feel anything” as though it was God’s fault, the corps fault, their
families fault, the officers fault.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
Revival isn’t even for those who will get knee-deep. There are some who may
sense that God wants to accomplish something great in their lives. They may
even catch a glimpse of the vision that God has for their ministry, but they
won’t take the step towards what they see.
The church will experience revival and the individual Christian will
only become all that God has intended for them to become when they give up to
God in total surrender and commit their lives to Him without reservation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At
the swimming depth, the river takes us wherever the river flows. The river
controls us. We do not control the Holy Spirit. It is a picture of a Christian
yielded to the Holy Spirit.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“The greatness of a man’s power if the measure of
his surrender.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <b>(William Booth)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">3. See healing</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
the Lord had taught this lesson of surrender and dependency to Ezekiel he asked
him to look at the river again. “Son of
man do you see this?<b> (v6)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
picture of the river is set in the Jordan valley and the river flows east
through the desert into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Dead
Sea lies about 16 miles in a straight line to the east of Jerusalem. It has no
outlet. The water of the Sea is much heavier that other seas. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The weight of the water is
due to the very large quantity of mineral salts which it holds in solution. This
means nothing living can exist in this sea and yet in Ezekiel’s vision, the
River of God can bring life to even its dead waters. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
There is no spirit so dead, no life so sin-filled, there is no soul so
depraved, there is no life so separated from God that it cannot be revived by
encountering the life-giving love of God.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
the river of God met the sea it turned salt water to fresh. If we don’t hold back but flow in the river
of Holy Spirit anointing then when our lives touch others, it will help them
change their attitude. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When
there was healing then there was also growth.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“But blessed
is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be
like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It
does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. (</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Jeremiah 17:7-8)</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A river not only
has a source but a work to do. Rivers
with the aid of weathering and mass
movement wear away the land and re-deposit the eroded material lower down in
their valleys and ultimately in the sea.
Geologists call this the energy of the river. It is the amount of work a river can do. For us there is a great deal more work that
the River of God wants to do in our lives.
Like the pebble in the stream God wants to smooth off our rough edges,
he may want to re shape us,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We
need the river. The river stands for the
power of the Spirit today. If we trust
in our own resources we will put all our energy into survival, so we cannot
spare any to give fruit. We become dry,
with nothing to give. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">What
is more, when God moves close in times of blessing, we cannot benefit from it,
we cannot enjoy it, we cannot receive the blessings </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">that God wants to give us, because we have so adapted ourselves to
living on our own resources that we struggle to receive from him. We can sit
here while others are being moved by God, experiencing his blessing and we
spend our time thinking about what we are going to do next, or what has
happened in the week just gone and the blessing of God does not touch or move
us in the slightest. We do not need to be afraid or get out of the river </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">because
God’s river only ever flows into the ocean of his love.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>God bless</i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Carol </i></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-70222651981018559772015-09-16T18:05:00.000+01:002015-09-16T18:05:04.952+01:00Wake Up<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>13th September 2015</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Bible Readings:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <b>Ephesians 5:8-20/Revelation 3:1-6</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are numerous calls in the Bible for God’s people to wake
up <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ephesians 5:14 </span></b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Wake up O sleeper, rise from the dead
and Christ will shine on you.” <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Isaiah 60:1</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>“Arise shine for your light has come and the
glory of the Lord rises upon you.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Romans 13:11 & 12</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>“The hour has
come for you to wake up from your slumber because salvation is nearer now than
when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost her. So let
us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">1 Thessalonians 5:6</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> “<i>Therefore
let us not be like others who are asleep but let us be alert and self-
controlled.”</i></span><b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: purple;">God’s people need to admit that we
have been asleep </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Churches
that are in need of new life, will often deny that they are sleeping. The Church in Sardis would have been surprised
to be accused of being asleep as they could point to the work they were doing
for the kingdom of God. Today they would be the kind of church where there is a
diverse programme of activity, enjoyable worship, interesting preaching and
good organisation. Yet Sardis had lost
vitality, was content with mediocrity and were not making an impact in the
community. It was a model of inoffensive, complacent, nominal Christianity. The
church in Sardis was also showing signs of spiritual decay, and was not on its
guard.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2<span style="color: purple;">.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: purple;">God’s people need to wake up in time.
</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So often the
church is playing catch up. By the time
we realise that there are spiritually hungry people waiting for us to give them
the bread of life, they have gone elsewhere to find something to satisfy them. The body of Christ is often so backward in understanding
and discerning the moral and spiritual condition of the world around it. For
example, changing attitudes to marriage, the sexual revolution. We fail to
understand what is presently shaping history.
Paul <i>says “wake up and rise from
the dead and to make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.” <b>(Ephesians
5:15)<o:p></o:p></b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> We also what time it is in the church. The Sardis Church did not realise how close
they were to judgment and to extinction.
The angel warns them, <i>"If you
do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I
will come to you." (Revelation
3:3b)<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is not
a reference to the Second Coming, but a coming in judgment. Whilst nothing can
ultimately prevail against the Church capital C, history is sadly littered with
local churches that have become extinct and with Christians who lost their way.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spiritually
speaking, sleeping is as neglectful as a sentry closing his eyes on duty. He fails to protect himself or others. It is
as dangerous as allowing someone who has taken an overdose to doze off. They
may go into a coma. It is as deadly as a lorry driver having forty winks at the
wheel. There will be a crash. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This church
was warned because it wasn’t quite too late. According to Revelation 3:4, there
was a godly remnant at Sardis, who hadn’t been polluted by the world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Questions: <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>Has
there been a wake-up call in my life recently that I’ve missed? <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Is
God trying to tell me something today? <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Will
I answer His wake-up?<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>Will
you be part of the godly remnant that stays awake?</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> <span style="color: purple;">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: purple;">How do we wake up and stay up? </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> “Remember, therefore what you have received
and heard; obey it and repent.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <b>(Revelation 3:3a)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This
includes recalling that they were once lost sinners without hope, the salvation
they had received and the joy of their first love for Jesus. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is
remembering that they do not need a reputation to make them powerful. They had forgotten the fundamental of faith,
prayer and reliance upon the Holy Spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is all
too easy, to wake up but then to turn back over and go back to sleep. The angel here is not criticizing a people
who are taking Sabbath rest. It is right to rest, to sleep when we have
laboured hard and we need to recuperate and regain our strength. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is
understandable that at times we might get a bit tired with the simple physical,
mental and emotional effort of living a Christian life in what the Bible calls
a “wicked and perverse” generation.” But we don’t always sleep because we are
tired. Sometimes we sleep because we are too warm, too full up from a heavy
meal, or become drowsy by the rhythm of a car or a train or we are simply
bored. If we were out in the fresh air, walking or engaged in something that
interested our minds and our hearts sleep would be the furthest thing from our
thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Greek
words that are translated “wake up” in both Ephesians and in Revelation it
means not just a one off action but implies becoming wakeful or watchful. It refers to a continual condition. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This passage
shows us that waking up should be followed by obedience and repentance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If we just
make a mental or emotional assent to the idea that we ought to wake up, we will
drift back into slumber. The alarm clock
is also a call to obey. It implies - Get up. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Spirit’s
call to wake up is a call to get up and actually do what God’s word says we
must do. We must stop thinking that we have the option to pick and choose what
we will and will not believe or obey. We cannot</span> bend the word of God to
fit our lifestyle. Instead we must conform and go His way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>God Bless</b></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Alan</b></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-45104258536722203942015-09-16T17:59:00.002+01:002015-09-16T17:59:16.553+01:00What is revival?<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Exeter Temple Message notes</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">:</span> <b>6<sup>th</sup> September
2015</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Bible Reading</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">:</span><b> Psalm 85</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All of us,
throughout our lives and throughout our Christian walk will need personal
revival at various times. Every church that has survived more than a generation
or two will require times of revival if it is to continue to represent and
serve Christ in a powerful way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Psalm 85 was
written sometime after exiled Jews had returned to Jerusalem. They found that
their land has been wasted, the temple had been destroyed; there was rubble
piled up around the holy places of God and the people who had remained behind
were spiritually weak and corrupt. They engaged in a sudden rush of activity to
address the problems and the foundations of a new temple were laid. However
years went by and they had not built God’s house again, there had been poor
harvest and not much food about and some enemies attacked them. In desperation one of them writes this psalm
as a prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> It was obvious to the psalmist that God’s people
of God needed restoration and a revival not only in their fortunes but in their
worship, in their devotion to God, in the strength to carry out their God given
mission to the world. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> “Revival is God at
work, restoring His church to health</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <b>(Walter Boldt) </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="body" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Look back </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Psalm 85:1-3</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> recall the way God worked in the
past history of Israel: “<i>You showed
favour to your land, O LORD; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave
the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. You set aside all your
wrath and turned from your fierce anger.” <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It is because the
writer</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> remembered
what God had done in the past and </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">thought abo</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">ut previous acts of God's power that he was </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">now crying out for God to do it all
over again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“<i>Restore us again O God our Saviour. Will you not revive us again, that your
people may rejoice in you?" (v4)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It is a remarkable
fact that when people begin to take an interest in revival, they immediately
start to pray for it all over again.</span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">We can look back on times in the
history of the Church in the UK when God has brought renewal and restoration
after a period of decline. We can be
inspired by our history. We are not
asking for something that has no precedent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanMT-Cond;">“Lord,
you can revive us again. We are not so deep in the mire but that you can’t lift
us out. We are not so dead but that you can make us alive. Will you not revive
us again? It is impossible to us, but it is possible to you. Lord, one touch of
your hand, a breath from your blessed lips, and it is done.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: TimesNewRomanMT-Cond;">
<i>Brothers, Sisters, we believe in God, do
we not? And if we do, we believe that whatever state a Church is in, God can
bring it out of it! Do not run away from it and say, “God can never bless it.”
He can bless it! Pray it up into a blessing and make this the essence of your
prayer, “Lord, You can revive us. We believe it, and we look for it.” </i><b>(Charles
Haddon Spurgeon)</b></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">2. Look up </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Psalmist
looked back for inspiration and looks up for an answer to his present
need. He recognised that the turning
around of Israel’s fortunes would take more than everyone making an effort, or
for the great minds of the day to come up with a scheme. We need God to move
among us. God is not obligated to give us revival just because it is
needed. While it is ultimately a
supernatural act of God, revival begins with our earnest cry and desire to
receive it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">QUOTE: “<i>The single greatest need in our land today
is heaven-sent revival! Revival comes at the sovereign, gracious decision of
God to send a fresh movement of His Spirit among his people… (but) Revival will
not come unless it is desired. It is an invasion from heaven at the request of
the saints on earth.”<b> </b></i><b>(Raymond Perkins, Sermon Central).</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The psalmist
prayer consists of: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Praise v1-3</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> He remembers that God is good. He
rehearses what God has done. Even when
things are bad it is good to remember that God is worthy of our praise.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Penitence v4-7</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> He recognises that God has cause to
be angry with his people. They have
grieved him with their lack of love, their disobedience, their lethargy. In Ephesians 4:30 Paul warns not the sinners
but the saints not to “grieve the Holy Spirit.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">True revival
always involves the acknowledgement of sin and the forgiveness of sins. As he
asks God to be merciful towards a people who have grieved him and caused him
displeasure, he does soon the basis of the character of God. “Show us your unfailing love O Lord and grant
us your salvation.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He sees that
repentance is linked to joy. We connect
repentance with tears but not joy but the one leads to the other. To confess
our sin and to turn around and set off again knowing that you are now on the
right road is to know a tremendous release.
It is sin, not the process of repentance that is the burden. Revival may begin in tears, but it proceeds
to joy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pledge V
8-9</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> “<i>I will listen to what God the Lord will say.
Let them not return to folly, salvation is near to those who fear him that is
glory may dwell in the land.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Revival is
not just about emotional moments. True revival is on-going; not a spur of the
moment trip to the mercy seat. When we
pray for revival we need to count the cost and examine our motives. The
motivation of the psalmist is that God’s “glory may dwell in our land.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If we want
revival because we want our church to survive and we think revival means we
won’t need to do any more embarrassing evangelism then we had better forget
it. If we are looking for revival so
that we don’t have to work so hard in the church because there will be more
people about to do the jobs, forget it.
In Revival the voice of God is more clearly heard and will call us to
greater challenges. And we need to
remember that alongside revival there is often also an outbreak of
persecution. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But to walk
with God, in harmony with his will and with his approval has to be worth any
cost. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: purple;">3. Looking Forward </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Finally, in
v 10-13 the psalm expresses confidence in God and paints a picture of what
revival will look like. There is expectation.
There is belief in the promises of God.
Restoration and revival is not a wish that the writer has plucked out of
the air. It is something that God has already said he will do when God’s people
seek his face. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He may not
do it in the way we think he will or in the timing we expect but he will do it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> V10-13 “Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the
earth and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what
is good and out land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and
prepares the way for his steps.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Blessings </i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>Carol </i></b></span></span></div>
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rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-45850339390957868532015-09-16T17:52:00.003+01:002015-09-16T17:52:34.702+01:00Unsung Hero: Titus<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span>
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>30<sup>th</sup>
August 2015</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Bible Readings: </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Titus and 2 Corinthians
7:13-8:21</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Titus spent some of his time as a travelling missionary as part of
Paul’s team but also became the pastor of a local congregation. He may have
eventually been a bishop with oversight of a region. Even if we are not like
Titus in personality, role or circumstance we can learn from his own godly
attributes and those he was encouraged to pursue. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">1. </span><b><span style="color: blue;">Be ready </span> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul took Titus with him to the Council of Jerusalem where he used Titus
as a test case in the matter of whether Gentiles needed to adopt Jewish customs
in order to find acceptance in the church.
<b>(Gal.2:1-3).</b> </span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Titus was sent </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">to the problem filled church at Corinth where he also was expected to
challenge the congregation to fulfill a financial obligation. He is then dispatched to Crete, a place with bad
reputation. Paul had visited the island of Crete briefly on his voyage to Rome
as a prisoner and returned later with Titus after his release but then asked Titus
to go back there on his own to build up the church. From there Titus was asked to re-join
Paul in Nicapolis and then moved again to Dalmatia. Titus may have stayed with Paul during his
second imprisonment in Rome and at some point returned to Crete where he
probably ended his days. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Why say yes to such
difficult tasks? </b><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Titus would have learned from Paul that the true motivation for any ministry
is service. Paul often used the word servant to describe himself and he opened
his letter to Titus with the words,<i> “Paul a servant of God and an apostle of
Jesus Christ.” </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The thought of servitude does not rest easily with our modern ideas of
freedom and independence. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">If service is an attempt
to somehow measure up and earn the acceptance of God it will appear too
demanding. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The Greek word often simply translated as servant, can
also be translated as “bond-slave. In ancient culture if a person got into
serious debt the outcome was often enslavement
to their creditor. In Jewish law this could not be for more than 7 years. However
some slaves would v</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">oluntarily become permanent bond-slaves of a master they loved and
respected. <b>(See Exodus 21:5-6)<span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The servant of Christ confidently and voluntarily gives their
life over to a master who is as wise as he is kind. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Titus seemed to have
grasped the whole concept of being a Servant of Christ which is not <span style="background: white;">just a tick list of duties that have a beginning and
end. It is a lifestyle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Do you see yourself as a servant or just a volunteer?
There’s a world of difference between the two. A volunteer picks and chooses
when and even whether to serve. A servant serves no matter what. A volunteer
serves when convenient; a servant serves out of commitment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sermoncentral.com/bible/NIV/1-Peter%202.asp?passage=1%20Peter%202%3A16&ScrptureHover=sermon-94168-Settling%20the%20Servanthood%20Issue"><b><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-themecolor: text1; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">1 Peter 2:16</span></b></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">challenges
us to “…live as servants of God.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">2. Be
realistic </span> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul
quotes a Greek poet who said the people of Crete were always liars, evil brutes
and lazy gluttons.” <b>(Titus 1:12)</b>Paul
agrees and adds that they are also people who “claim to know God but by their
actions they deny him. They are they are detestable, disobedient and unfit for
doing anything good.” <b>(Titus 1:13)</b></span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Titus was put into in a difficult
circumstance and there is no use pretending otherwise. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes we are put into such positions because God knows that is where
we are most needed. Paul says to Titus, “This is why I left you in Crete, so
that you might put what remained into order.<span class="apple-converted-space">
In other words, Crete is a mess that is why you are there. (Titus 1:5) <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">It was not just Crete that needed help but the Church there had
been affected by the culture around it. It seemed to be beset by </span></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">a rise in false teaching and declining morality. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Greek behind that phrase straighten out in v 5 is
linked to the idea of a broken bone being reset. Titus is there to help this church walk
again. Another adjective that Paul uses 4 times in this letter is the word
“sound” He links the word with doctrine
in chapter 1:9 and “2:1. And with faith in chapter 1:13 and chapter 2:2. It is used to describe that which is whole or
healthy, strong, not defective. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The = English word "hygiene" from the
Greek. </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There is a part of us that would prefer to avoid a health check-up but
good sense</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> tells us that having an evaluation of our condition means that poor
health issues can be addressed. </span></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So Paul calls Titus to not be afraid of facing up to
what is wrong but gives him lots of advice about how to help this church get
healthy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">If our spiritual health is going to be good it has to
be based on truth. </span><a href="http://www.sermoncentral.com/bible/NIV/Titus-1.asp?passage=Titus%201%3A9&ScrptureHover=sermon-59415-How%20to%20Tell%20if%20Your%20Spiritual%20Health%20is%20Good"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">Titus 1:9</span></a><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><u>
</u>stresses the importance of holding firmly to the trustworthy message as it has
been taught and encouraging others by sound doctrine. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">One of the reasons our
lives are spiritually unhealthy at times is because we have listened to and
followed the wisdom of the world above the wisdom of the Bible. In our communication saturated society, it
might be a good idea for each of us to evaluate what percentage of time we
spent absorbing the word of God and Christian teaching in comparison with our
time spend watching TV, surfing the internet, reading magazines, newspapers or
listening to the opinions of our peers.<span style="background: white;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">3. Be
reliable </span> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is possible to
know all the right things and not put them into practice. The other word Paul uses a lot in his letter
to Titus is the word good. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">There must be a correspondence between creed and
deed. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Titus is encouraged to live out that maxim in
his own life. Titus 2:7 “In everything set them an example by doing what is
good.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul
shows us that Titus did do that. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Integrity
and faithfulness (2 Cor. 12:17-18) </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Genuine
love for God’s people (</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">2 Cor. 7:13–15</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">
& 8:16-17)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">-<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">Enthusiastic and used his o</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 12pt;">wn initiative (2 Cor. 7:6). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Possessing both strength and tact, Titus calmed a
desperate situation on more than one occasion. He is a good model for
Christians who are called to live out their witness in trying circumstances.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Healthy, godly lives are
rooted in the person of Jesus and what he has done. Titus’ own healthy spiritual life was an
outcome the operation of the Holy Spirit, given by God through Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The inspiration to be ready,
realistic and reliable in our service comes from a response to all Jesus has
done for us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read <b>Titus 2:4-8<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>God Bless</i></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Alan</i></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-87125195821937082642015-08-11T19:33:00.003+01:002015-08-11T19:33:33.423+01:00Unsung hero: Ebed Melech <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">Exeter Temple
Bible Message notes:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Sunday 9<sup>th</sup>
August 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: red;">Bible Reading:</span></b> Jeremiah
38-39<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Many people have heard of Jeremiah but the name of
Ebed-Melech is not so familiar. Yet, without him Jeremiah would have died a
slow and painful death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">Background </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Northern Kingdom of Israel
has already fallen to the invading Babylonian army. The same fate now awaits
Judah, but King, Zedekiah has allied the country with Egypt and they had
already sent troops to support the
Judean army and as a result they had
pushed the Babylonians back. Jeremiah, had continually prophesied any hope
Judah had of staying free, was to return to God. Jeremiah could see that Egypt
would only defend Judah whilst it was in its own interests. Jeremiah counselled
that the Babylonians would have their day, but all would not be lost for Judah,
if she learned from this lesson returned to the Lord and forsook worshipping
other gods. His advice sounded like treason to the Jewish leadership desperate
to cling on to power. On an innocent
family business trip Jeremiah was arrested, beaten up and imprisoned. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Secretly King Zedekiah knew that
Jeremiah was right but was too weak to challenge the decision of his officials
to issue a death warrant on Jeremiah, Jeremiah was taken and put him into the
cistern of Malkijah, the kings son which was in the courtyard of the guard
where without help he was sure to die. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">Who was </span><span style="background: white;"><span style="color: red;">Ebed-Melech? </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">This was not his name, but a title for what he
did. It literally meant “Servant of the
King.” H</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">e came from the land of Cush, a general
term for regions of Africa south of Egypt.
Some modern translations state that he came from Ethiopia. The NIV lists him as an official in the
palace of King Zedekiah, other translations say that he was a eunuch. If he was
this possibly indicates he was a guard of the women’s quarters. It is also
possible he was a slave. His was a very
different status to that of the four officials in Jeremiah 38:1 who opposed
Jeremiah. They were members of the royal family and were very powerful.
Ebed-Melech, the man with no</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">name, was a foreigner and a lowly back-room servant, just doing his job.
But despite his position he became a key figure in Jeremiah’s rescue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">One commentator describes him as “a moral man in tune with God” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">1.
He heard v 7</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">How Ebed-Melech heard about Jeremiah’s plight is unknown. Jeremiah had not had a trial; he was not to be
executed publicly. He was kept hidden away in the private drainage system
within the confines of the palace. The
point was to get rid of Jeremiah, whilst letting the world think he had
defected to the enemy. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Zedekiah should have protected Jeremiah but he </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">claimed he could
do nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">v 5 “He is in your hands. The king can do nothing to oppose you.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We are prone to saying, “Somebody should do something about this.” Sometimes we wish somebody else would go –
but God says, I want you to go.
Sometimes we wish somebody else would do the task needing to be done but
God says I have placed this in our hands; no one else is going to pick this up.
This is yours. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Christian speaker Ruth Hill likens the situation to being at baggage
collection at the airport. Dozens of
bags pass before your eyes on the conveyor belt. You don’t pick them all up but
you do step forward and you do collect those with your name on. Most of the
time, if you don’t pick it, it becomes lost luggage. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">When we don’t really want to do something, many good reasons
surface in our mind to justify our passivity. It is easy to be absorbed in the
endless busy-ness of our small worlds: my study, my family, my home, my job, my
local church, my comfort, my future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">But Ebed-Melech’s sensitive heart would not allow him to remain
indifferent. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">He has been called the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Good Samaritan
of the Old Testament<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">2. He went v8 </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ebed-Melech could have brought Jeremiah bread every day to keep
him alive until the fall of the present regime. This would still have been an
act of sacrifice because in the current crisis they were in bread was difficult
to come by and it would have been an act of faith because it showed that
Ebed-Melech believed Jeremiah’s prophecy. This
would be all very commendable and sensible; helping but not risking too much;
caring but not compromising your own position.
But this was not what faith in God was calling Ebed-Melech to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Instead he had a two-fold mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1. - to expose the truth of what had happened to Jeremiah, clear
Jeremiah’s name so that the word of God would not be discredited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">2. to show some compassion for Jeremiah personally and literally
get him out of a hole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">It would take great faith and courage for Ebed-Melech
to go to the king and plead for Jeremiah.
He went to see Zedekiah when he was in a </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">court
outside the palace where, as the king he listened to appeals for justice. Ebed-Melech made Jeremiahs plight public and
shamed the king into acting more justly. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ebed-Melech’s words are bold. Kings usually don’t like to be
corrected and especially not on moral matters. Yet King Zedekiah knew
EbedMelech was right and he commissioned him to lift Jeremiah the prophet out
of the cistern before he dies”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Even with King’s permission, it was still a risky act to go and get
Jeremiah out of the cistern, given the power of the men who had put Jeremiah
there in the first place. Ebed-Melech
didn’t need the 30 men provided by Zedekiah to pull one man out of a well. He
needed them as body guards! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">3. He used what he had</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">When Jeremiah prayed for deliverance he probably did not think that a bag
of jumble would be a sign of hope. It is
obvious that without the ropes Jeremiah could not have got out of the cistern
but the old rags made it possible for him to get out without further injury. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Ebed-Melech was in the right place to hear about Jeremiah’s need,
he knew where the king was to be able to bring the truth to light and who else
but someone who knew the palace as well as a servant would know that there were
worn out clothes in a room under the treasury! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">For Ebed-Melech, serving the Lord, being the hero God asked him to
be, simply depended upon him being himself and using the opportunities and the
resources that were already his. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">, “Just thanking God for making ordinary people like us
indispensable co-workers with himself in his plan of redemption for those who
are near to us and of course further afield. “ Commissioner Harry Read-
Facebook <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">1 Peter 4:10 “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to
serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in various forms.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">4. He held on</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Amazingly,
Ebed-Melech had stayed at his post. He hadn’t gone over to the Babylonians, he
hadn’t run away back to Ethiopia or escaped to Egypt but this meant that the
outlook for him now was very bad indeed. His very title gives him away as a member of the deposed
king’s staff. Prison, forced labour or
execution is the most likely outcome for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">In the midst of the
chaos Jeremiah starts to prophesy but his message is not for the nation, it is
not for the new governor or for the exiles in Babylon, it is a personal word
for a faithful servant of God, with no name who was alone and terrified. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">“I am about to fulfil
my words about this city through disaster not prosperity. At that time they
will be fulfilled before your eyes but I will rescue you on that day declares
the Lord; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you and
you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you
trust me.” (Ch 39:16-17)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">God doesn’t always choose to physically protect
the people he is pleased with but he never overlooks them, even if others do.
Notice too, that even though he was afraid, God talks in the present tense of
Ebed-Melech’s trust. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">We can be assured that whatever it is that God
calls us to get involved with, he knows us and he is aware of our fears, our
battles and temptations.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">“</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">And God is faithful;<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>he
will not let you be tempted<sup>[</sup></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+10:13&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28581b" title="See footnote b"><sup><span style="color: black;">b</span></sup></a><sup><span style="background: white;">]</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span style="background: white;">beyond
what you can bear.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>But when you
are tempted,<sup>[</sup></span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+10:13&version=NIV#fen-NIV-28581c" title="See footnote c"><sup><span style="color: black;">c</span></sup></a><sup><span style="background: white;">]</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span style="background: white;">he
will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Ebed- Melech may never be in the Top Ten of biblical heroes but it is
unlikely he ever wanted to be, his main concern being to do what was right. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;"><b>God Bless</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Alan </b></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-52204582832995029022015-08-11T18:02:00.001+01:002015-08-11T18:02:07.674+01:00Taught by the Spirit <div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span>
Sunday 2<sup>nd</sup> August 2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">Bible Reading:</span> 1 Corinthians 2:6-16</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The God, Paul
speaks of is not shallow or superficial but deep, even mysterious, a God whom
we have never reached the bottom of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> “No eye has
seen, no ear has heard, no mind conceived what God has prepared for those who
love him.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <b>v 9</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some things in the world remain a mystery and personally there are
things that we may never know e.g. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How our life would have turned
out if we had met different people, or made different choices. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Can the deep things of
God be discovered or are they forever beyond us, forever mysteries? It is true that we will never get to the
point when we will know all there is to know about God. If we could completely categorise, label and
analyse him God would not be God.
However God has chosen to reveal himself to us, he wants us to know him,
and he wants to teach us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It might not be
prominent in our consciousness and we might try to satisfy it with other things
but there is a deep longing in us that reaches to something deep outside of
ourselves. In Psalm 42 the writer described that experience as “deep calling to
deep”. The two need to be connected.<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Deep within your interior spaces is a meeting
place God built to commune with you. From it he calls to you with tender
urgency and from the furthest reaches of your inner space an ache of yearning
echoes back the call.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <b>Dr
John White</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">How do we reach the
place of connection? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“This is what we speak, not in words taught to us
by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit expressing spiritual truths
in spiritual words.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> (v13)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;">1. The
inability of human reason to know God. </span>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We cannot even know the
innermost thoughts of another human being, never mind the God of the universe. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>“For who among men knows the
thought of a man except the man’s spirit within him.” <b>V11</b></i><b>
</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Whilst a mother can
often distinguish what her baby needs from crying that seems just a noise to
everyone else and married people can sometimes know each other well enough to
finish one another’s sentences our knowledge even of those we have an intimate
relationship with is not complete. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If that is true of each
other it is even more so when we try to enter the thoughts of God. <i>“O, the depth and the riches of the wisdom
and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements and his paths beyond
tracing out who has known the mind of the Lord?”</i> <b>Romans 11:33</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Using the mind alone will never lead us to discovering the deep things
of God. God is not found by only the
mind but also the heart. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b>2 The indwelling Spirit </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Discovering God can
never be just an intellectual exercise any more than finding a marriage partner
can be or being a good parent. This is
because essentially God is not just a vague force but also a person with whom
to have a relationship. But even then we
dare not just trust our hearts. The
Bible tells us that our hearts can be deceitful and led astray. The deep things of God, the things that are
eternal and divine cannot be known by our own investigation. Do we really think we could find God if he
didn’t want to be found? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> “No one
knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” </span></i><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">v 11<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">So then, if we could
have access to the Holy Spirit then maybe we could have a chance of getting
somewhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">God had decided that
the way he can be found is through the divine revelation of the Spirit. The way to access to the knowledge of God’s
character in depth only comes to those who have committed themselves to Christ
who have the authority that is theirs because their sin is forgiven through
Christ’s work on the cross. They can then receive the Spirit of God within that
leads us to know the Father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <i>“We have
not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may
understand what God has freely given us.” </i><b>V 12</b><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before returning to heaven, Jesus
promised to send His Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and comfort us. And by
accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we also accept this vital gift of the
Holy Spirit.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">If we are Christians we
have the Spirit and if our ultimate goal is to know God then it makes sense to
open us ourselves to more and more of him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;">3. The
difference between the spiritual and the natural </span> <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">All of this leaves us
with two different kinds of people. <b> </b><i>“This is what we speak, not in words taught
to us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit expressing spiritual
truths in spiritual words.</i> <b>v 13</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> The man without the Spirit does not accept the
things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he
cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A diver cannot discover
the wonders of coral reef by simply jumping out of a boat. He is not a fish and
he cannot function underwater without breathing apparatus.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
The unspiritual self just as it is by nature can’t receive the gifts of God’s
spirit. There is no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can only be known by Spirit God’s
Spirit and our spirits in open communion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Spiritually
alive we have access to everything God’s spirit is doing.”</span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
(v14 The Message)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">4. The Spirit will
always take you back to the Cross </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
is it that God will reveal to us about his heart for the world, his solution
for the mess the world is in? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It
will be the cross of Christ. This is
God’s wisdom on the matter. We can never
move on from the cross of Christ, only into a deeper understanding of it. The Spirit of God will always lead us towards
a cross-centred life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<i><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“The Bible tells us that, while there are many different
callings and many possible areas of service in the kingdom of God, one
transcendent truth should define our lives. One simple truth should motivate
our work and affect every part of who we are.</span></i><i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Christ died for our sins.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">If there's anything in life that we should be
passionate about, it's the gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about
sharing it with others. I mean passionate in thinking about it, dwelling on it,
rejoicing in it, allowing it to colour the way we look at the world. Only one
thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to
be.”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/84252.C_J_Mahaney"><b><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">C.J. Mahaney</span></i></b></a><b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<b><i><span style="background: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>God bless</i></b></span></span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoBodyText2" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><i>Carol </i></b></span></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-37612608066926125892015-08-11T17:55:00.001+01:002015-08-11T17:55:06.281+01:00Boasting in the Lord<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> 26<sup>th</sup>
July 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="color: red; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bible Reading</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: red;">: </span> 1 Corinthians 1:18-31</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">Our
expectation is probably that God does not like boasting and therefore it should
be got rid of. However i</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">n the Bible if<span style="background: white;"> it is
God or the commendable qualities of others we are boasting of it is seen as a good
thing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Hebrew word</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">mahalal which is sometimes translated "boast." in the Bible
can also be translated as "to praise, "</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> and is </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">closely connected with the word rejoice. Boasting is really a bit of
rejoicing for something. </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">"My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and
rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together" </span></i><b><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Psalm 34:2-3</span></b><b><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We have a God-given desire
to praise, to exalt and to rejoice. The problem comes when we seek to make
ourselves the object of people’s praise and adulation, either through parading
our own accomplishments before them or perhaps being a little more subtle about
it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">It is very clear that God
really does not like to see pride in us. In fact Proverbs 6:6-19 lists the 7
things that God hates and right there among them is pride. And it is pride that
is at the heart of our boasting about ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1 Corinthians 1:31 calls
for us to boast in the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">1. Realistic Assessment </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1 Corinthians 1:26-29 “<i><span style="background: white;">Take
a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I
don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential,
not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately
chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose
these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Why would a pastor speak
this way to his congregation? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That doesn’t seem the
right thing to say to a congregation of Christians. Although Paul’s words could
be misunderstood he wrote them for a reason.
The Corinthian’s seem to have been boasting about how smart <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">they were to be followers
of Jesus. Sinful pride had descended upon them like a fog over their church.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The reason God is against
pride in ourselves is not that he is jealous of us. He is not trying to put
anyone down. The answer is that our human boasting is always based on an
illusion of self–sufficiency. And God is a realist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Paul also urges the Corinthians to get real. The Message version of what
he has to say on the matter reads like this: <i>“That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing
your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right
living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.
That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet
for God.”</i></span><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">A businessman wrote</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">, “It’s appealing to me to
feel I am the master of my fate; I call my own shots; I go it alone. But that
feeling is my basic dishonesty. I have
to get help from other people and I can't ultimately rely on myself. I am
dependent on God for my very next breath. It is dishonest of me to pretend that
I am anything but a man, small, weak and limited. So, living independent of God
is self-delusion. It's not just a matter of pride being an unfortunate little
trait and humility being an attractive little virtue. When I am conceited, I am lying to myself
about what I am. I am pretending to be God, and not man. My pride is the
idolatrous worship of myself, and that is the national religion of hell”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Pride
essentially is an attitude of independence from God. It makes us feel
ungrateful to God for what we have and makes us feel better than other people. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">2. Honest Testimony </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Understanding how to be humble and boast in the Lord is
tricky. And one of the ways we get it
wrong sometimes is that we thing that somehow in order to make God look better
we have to make ourselves look worse. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Christians can say some very negative things about
themselves. Whilst recognising our
sinful state, thinking about ourselves as worthless rubbish is as equally unrealistic
as thinking that we are independently running the universe. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">The truth of the gospel is that whatever we have become and
whatever we have done God still regards us as being worth sending his son into
the world to save us. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"> <i>“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: “While we were still
sinners Christ died for us</i>. <b>Romans
5:8<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">If boasting in the Lord is about giving him honour, we have
to ask ourselves how honouring it is to God when we disagree with him about his
opinion of us. People in the Bible did
this all the time. God calls them into
his service and their reaction is to respond with, “I can’t.” I’m not good enough. </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #4e4e4e; font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
example Moses argues that he is not the best choice to lead God’s people out of
Egypt. He doesn’t have the gift of clear speech, he doesn’t have the qualities
of a leader that inspire others to follow. How does he dare argue with God,
except that he thinks that he knows better than God? That’s pride; that is to
boast that he has a better plan for his life than God does. </span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">In the name of humility we testify more about our struggles
in our faith than we do about our victories.
We may not want to hear super-hero testimonies from people who never
have any doubts, struggles or melt downs. It is too easy to assume that we are
the only ones who fail and that everyone else is doing better than us. It is
such a relief sometimes when Christians we admire shares their doubts, mistakes
and disappointments. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">However we need to avoid a tendency to feel embarrassed when
things are going well in our spiritual life because we do not want to appear
too pious. Yet if the Holy Spirit has
given us the courage to face a fear or looking back we can see that we have
overcome a temptation through applying the word of God, shouldn’t we be
prepared to testify about that so that people can know that this faith thing
actually works. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We do God dishonour if we
don’t acknowledge the work he is doing in our lives <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Another meaning of the word boast is to "speak often
of" </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">God wants us to make our
boast in Him always! That’s why the Psalmist declared,</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><em style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">“In God we
boast all the day long…”</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(Psalm 44:8). To
make your boast in the Lord is to vocalize your faith in His ability and how
that ability is functioning in you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;">3. Courageous witnessing</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When we think about people
who brag or people who boast, we think of people who like to draw attention to
themselves. We think of them like
peacocks, inviting everyone looks at them with admiration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">We tend to think of humble
people as being those who stand back and work quietly in the background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">But there are times when
our pride means that the last thing we want to do is be noticed or looked
at. Rather we would like the ground to
open up and swallow us or we could become invisible because of fear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Humility is not the same
thing as blending into the background. We are not called to draw attention to
ourselves but we are called to draw attention to Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">God does
not call us to be centre pieces but he does call us to be signposts pointing to
Christ. We are to boast in the Lord and
for many in our day that means suffering as a result. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt;">In Acts
Paul gives his testimony to his Christians friends in Ephesus. “And now
compelled by the Spirit I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen
to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that
prison and hardships are facing me. However I consider my life worth nothing to
me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has
given me, the task of testifying (boasting?) to the gospel of God’s grace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Is the challenge for us, not
to shut up but to speak up, not
to back off but step up? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;">Every part of our life, everything we do, everything, we
think, and everything we say is to bring honour and glory to God. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; color: red; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b>God bless</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><i><b>Carol </b></i></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5098859802491657959.post-60414759858603201942015-07-21T11:33:00.002+01:002015-07-21T11:33:20.415+01:00United in mind and thought <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Exeter Temple Message notes:</span> Sunday 19<sup>th</sup> July 2015 <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Bible Reading</span>: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul’s letter is an attempt to get the Corinthian church that
was going off course back on track. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In v 10 Paul appeals to this church that they will unite around their
common goal. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">“<i>I appeal to you, brothers in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with one another so that
there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in
mind and thought.” </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Organizations and denominations develop doctrinal statements and mission
statements so that what they believe and why they do what they do are clearly
understood. It is not that everyone has to do the same thing but that there are
core, common beliefs and values that everyone can unite around. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">1. Side
tracked by differing opinions</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">v
11 “My brothers from Chloe’s household
have informed me that there are quarrels among you <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul would be wrong if he believes that
people can agree all the time. Indeed he would be hypocritical to insist on it
because he himself had disagreement with both Barnabas and Peter. It is
unlikely that Paul believed we can all stand together on every issue. Rather he
sees that there can be a unity of purpose and intention, which means we can
differ in our opinions and avoid quarrelling.
His appeal was for harmony, not the elimination of diversity.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In his appeal for unity Paul refers to the
power of the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"For the
message of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God"</span></i><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
(v18)<br />
<i>“The cross of Jesus is the great
leveller. In the light of the cross not one of us is worthy, but we have been
made worthy because of that cross.</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There
is a power in the message of the cross and we don’t have to fully understand
it, we don’t have to completely agree on exactly what that cross means. But
still is has that power; the power to heal divisions, the power to bring
different people of different gender, different race and social status</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="background: white;">to the same place. I have been in
churches and conferences where people have disagreed and you point to the cross,
you remind them again of the message of the cross, and all of the sudden the
differences don’t seem so important anymore! Not as important as that cross!”<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(Stephen Woody)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The challenge, every time we dislike something that happens
in the church or in the army is to bring that issue to the cross and ask the
questions,</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Does it
really diminish Jesus Christ or the cross or is it a matter of personal
preference? Does it really distract from the cross or is it just an
inconvenience to us and our agenda?</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">2. </span></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red;">Side-tracked by
personalities </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is nothing wrong with identifying with the people whose
ministry we understand and enjoy unless we start to concentrate on the messenger
rather than the message or when we mistake style for the standard. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is what happened in Corinth. There was one group who
said, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“We belong to Paul,”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> They were probably those who found Paul’s message of freedom and grace
liberating after years of endless struggles to keep the ceremonial laws. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another group said </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“We belong to Apollos”.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Apollos was a clever Alexandrian
Jew, who knew Greek philosophy. He would appeal to those who thought themselves
a little better intellectually. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A third group said, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“I belong to Cephas”.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Cephas was a nickname Jesus gave to
Peter. This group admired Peter’s appreciation of his Jewish roots. They
thought that the Christian life required recognition of Jewish customs and
laws. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A final group said, </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“We follow Christ alone”.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Their claim sounded good but they
were being superior with a </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“We don’t need anyone but ourselves”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> kind of attitude.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul does not
seek to bring unity to this community by siding with one group, then pulling
rank as an apostle and demanding that all the other groups conform to that
group. Instead he calls them all brothers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and
the role assigned to him by God, Paul spoke with authority to the church but
not in his own name but ‘<i>by the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ’?</i> (v10)</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Paul points out to them that when they were baptized t<span style="background: white;">hey swore allegiance to Christ not people. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Neither, Paul, Peter nor Apollos
had set out to create a cult around their own ministries. Their so called supporters had done so without
their consent. Rather Paul talked about
it in terms of one sowing, another watering and God giving the growth.</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“<i>If you have one hundred concert pianos and
you tune the second piano to the first and the third piano to the second and
the fourth to the third, until you have tuned</i> all the <i>piano’s accordingly, you will still have disharmony and discord but if
you tune each piano to the same tuning fork you would have unity and harmony.
So too, in the body of Christ; when we tune our lives to Christ we will keep
true.” (</i></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AW Tozer “The Pursuit of God”)<i><span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">3. Side-tracked
by the world </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Corinthian Christians were side tracked by clever
arguments from the world around them. People in Corinth revered cleverness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some in Corinth were overawed by a group of people who had
become well known by ridiculing Christian belief. Another set were mesmerized
by a group who made Christianity extremely complicated. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In reply </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Paul said, “</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I just
preach the power of the cross of Christ” </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is little in the way of political power, intellectual
argument or spectacular actions to commend the Christ who goes to the cross. By
the worlds standards it was the essence of folly and weakness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It says that God became weak in order to save us, that when
we surrender our lives we truly find them, that the way to be truly exalted is
by true humility and that the way to new life is through death. The world looks
on this as says it is foolishness. But Paul says that it is the very power of
God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The gospel will always appear foolish to those who only apply
the world’s wisdom to it. The gospel
always needs a response of both mind and heart. We just need to discern between those who
are trying to give a real sincere response of their minds to the claims of
Christ and those who simply like to engage in arguments. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We must never be intimidated by intellectualism. The gospel
might appear to be foolishness but it still stands it is still changing lives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The other thing is that we can proclaim Christ with our lips
but continue to apply worldly logic to the way we actually live our lives or we
can trust the word of God which calls us to live according to the principles of
the cross. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The following statements sound good but they are based on
the philosophy of the world not the word of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“I must be the best Christian I can in order to be acceptable to God”</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It sounds noble but it is not the gospel. Nothing you can do
can make you acceptable to God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“I keep my
religious life and my personal life separate and they don’t interfere with one
another”.</span></i><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A faith that doesn’t affect your personal life isn’t worth
having. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Humans at their very core are good and only need the right environment
to improve the quality of their lives</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No - human beings need something as drastic and powerful as
the cross to really give them life in all its fullness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So let’s not get side-tracked by differing opinions, personality or
worldly wisdom because when we it pulls us apart from one another. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How will we do this? </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is by
focusing on essentials, Christ himself, the cross and the word of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>God bless</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><b>Alan </b></i></span></span></div>
rehobothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09089753811404416545noreply@blogger.com0