Author: The Christian Campus

https://youtu.be/VsyeL_BBQAA

                               Sunday 26 April 2020  

Ps Ben Hooman

Thank you again for welcoming me into your homes this day. What an honour to share the Word of God with you. May God enrich our understanding as we open our hearts and minds to receive the truth this morning.

Our core Scripture is out of Isaiah 38:9-14.

In Isaiah 38 we read the remarkable true story of a Godly king by the name of Hezekiah who faced an unexpected and unknown crisis:

“In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death”. (Isaiah 38:1)

We saw that the very first response of king Hezekiah in facing this crisis was to turn to God in prayer:

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord”. (Isaiah 38:2)

This story has a very encouraging and joyful ending in that the Lord heard the king’s prayer and wonderfully healed him. From this we learned a very important principle that speaks to us today:

God is sovereign in all things and His sovereignty includes the prayers of His people.

Last week we looked at how God answered Hezekiah’s prayer.

“Now Isaiah had said, ‘Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” (Isaiah 38:21)

We saw by this that God normally uses means but there are also some things that only God can do.

Only God can forgive sins, only God can change the heart, only God can raise the dead. Jesus was crucified and died, buried but on the third day God raised Him up from the dead, and because He lives, we will live also.

There are things only God can do, but normally He use means. This is a really important principle, also in the crisis we are facing these days. A new virus is sweeping across the world with severe consequences.

What should we do? We should pray! But we should also use whatever means are available to restrain the progress of the virus. God also works through means, so we should wash our hands, stay at home and practice social distancing. As we do these things, we pray that God will also use these things as means in His kindness and grace to slow and restrain the virus.

That is where we got to in this incredible chapter of Isaiah 38. We looked at the beginning of it and at the end. But what was it like in the middle? Although God restored king Hezekiah, what was it like in the middle of this unexpected crisis?

Today we are going to look at the experience of a Godly man as he waits for God’s deliverance from the crisis. When the crisis first hit, the initial experience was one of shock. At the end of the crisis it was one of hope and gratitude. But what was it like in the middle of it all?

The word that sums up Hezekiah’s experience as he went through this unexpected and unknown crisis, is the word “distress” or “anguish”.

That is what it was like for him and again it speaks to us to where we find ourselves today. We came through the shock of our lives being disrupted and we have affirmed our hope and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But right now, many begin to experience anguish and distress, especially as we see the increase in infections, the many people may not get an income, and the worst still to come in the weeks ahead.

We need to be prepared and therefore God’s Word is speaking directly to where we find ourselves in the middle of this crisis.

Let us look at the core Scripture in what God says to us today in Isaiah 38:9-14.

“A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness:” (Isaiah 38:9)

Then follow the words that are a reflection of his experience after he had recovered. He is writing his inside story of his experience during this crisis. He tells us what he felt, what he feared and we are going to focus on these things as it relates directly to us in these unknown times.

1. He felt three things:

He felt fragile

“My dwelling is plugged up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; He cuts me off from the loom; from day to night you bring me to an end;” (Isaiah 38:12)

Remember this is a king, he has authority and power, influence and wealth, a life filled with plans, living in a palace. But when the unexpected crisis comes, he feels fragile. He lives in a palace but his own body feels like a tent, fragile and easily taken down.

Is this how you feel today? Our lives are fragile, in fact the whole world is fragile. Everything the world lives for has been disrupted, been put on hold by a tiny virus. That is how fragile the world is!

Therefore, the question: are you feeling fragile? That is part of the anguish that comes in unexpected and unknown times.

Hezekiah then tell us the second thing he felt:

He felt anxious

“I calmed myself until the morning; like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day to night You bring me to an end.” (Isaiah 38:13)

Does this crisis keep some awake at night? I take this verse to mean that the king spent the whole night calming himself down. At the loneliness of night, it seems to be always more challenging and it gripped the king as well as he says: “I calmed myself until morning, I find my mind was racing and difficult to achieve a sense of peace. Anxiety was gripping me”.

Here is a Godly man in his bed finding it hard to sleep. Hours are creeping past and his mind will not come to rest. We will look at why he was so anxious a bit later, but for now we need to notice that anxiety was the experience of a Godly king.

This man walked closely with God. The Bible says that there was never a greater earthly king before or after him, no king more pleasing to God than king Hezekiah. A Godly king that was anxious!

Well, anxiety is part of the anguish that comes with an unexpected and unknown crisis.

Then Hezekiah tells us a third thing:

He was weary

“Like a swallow or a crane, I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O’ Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!” (Isaiah 38:14)

Anyone who has been seriously ill knows that sickness is exhausting, but I want us to notice why the king was weary: “my eyes are weary with looking upward”. That can simply mean that he was tired of lying in his bed looking at the ceiling, but I believe there is something than that he is telling us here.

He must have been sick for a while before Isaiah came to visit him to tell him that he is going to die. During that time the king must have called upon the Lord waiting for an answer and he was tired waiting.

Maybe there is a specific prayer you are bringing to the Lord for many years, something that is a desire of the heart. You are waiting for an answer and are tired of waiting also saying: my eyes are weary with looking upward, how long O’ Lord?

Are you feeling weary today? Being weary is part of the anguish that comes within an unexpected crisis.

If we are all together today; I wish that could have been, I would have asked: Is there anyone in the congregation who is feeling a sense of being fragile or anxious or weary, I am sure that what Hezekiah describes here, is getting at what we are feeling in these days with an unknown virus that is with us.

You might think to yourself: Wait but I am a believer and I shouldn’t be feeling like this at all for Philippians 4:6 says to us not to be anxious. The Bible records that this Godly king who walked closely with God, in an unexpected crisis felt fragile, and anxious and weary.

This is not a failure of your faith, but simply the reality of our humanity.

Secondly, he also tells us three things that he feared.

2. He feared three things

Separation from his loved ones

“I said, I shall not see the Lord, the Lord in the land of the living; I shall look on man no more among the inhabitants of the world” (Isaiah 38:11)

Notice what king Hezekiah is saying: I shall not see the Lord in the land of the living. He knows that he will see the Lord in the world to come but might no longer meet the Lord as he has done in the past going up to the temple of the Lord with God’s people.

When we worship together, we behold the beauty of the Lord:

“So, I looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” (Psalm 63:2)

So, when we worship, we anticipate by faith what we will one day enjoy by sight. Behold, the very face of God!

That is why the king could say with all who were Godly then, and also today: I was glad when they said to me ‘Let us go up to the house of the Lord’. This king was a Godly man and he loved gathering with God’s people, beholding the face of God in worship.

The thought that he will no longer be able to do that, no longer be able to worship with the people of God, was hard for him to bear. He said: “if my days are done, I will no longer be able to go to the temple. I shall look on man no more among the habitants of the world”.

It speaks so directly to the situation we are in today. We miss seeing one another, miss being together, miss worshipping God together at church.

But Hezekiah is not dealing with the inconvenience of a temporary shutdown, he is at the point of death and fears leaving his loved ones. For him it is to soon to say goodbye to the people that he loves. He is a Godly man and ahead of him is an eternal and joyful life, but still really finds it hard to depart from the ones he loves.

Apostle Paul speaks of man called Epaphroditus calling him a brother, a fellow worker and fellow soldier, a messenger and minister to his need.

“Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.” (Philippians 2:27,28)

That is love speaking! Paul knew that if his friend dies, he will be with the Lord but he will have sorrow upon sorrow. That is what Hezekiah feared; “I shall look at man no more”.

Some of us know this anguish, not ready to say goodbye to the ones we love. The Lord has taken home someone you dearly love and you miss them, more so in these days of isolation.

Value your loved ones, love those God has placed in your life and don’t take them for granted. Love them well whilst you can and cherish the gifts of God in your life.

We looking at what this king feared when facing unexpected times of crisis. He feared being separated from the people he loved. And then he thought about his own life and feared being cut off.

Being cut off

“I said in the middle of my days I must depart; I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for the rest of my years. My dwelling is plugged up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I rolled up my life; He cuts me off from the loom; from day to night You bring me to an end”. (Isaiah 38:10,12)

See this picture, Hezekiah is talking about his body as a fragile structure, but now he speaks about his whole life as being like fabric woven on a weaver’s loom.

The threats of your life woven together by Almighty God! Some of these threats are of a bright colour, some of them of darker colours. Together God weaves all the experiences of all the days of your life and there it is woven on a loom. Then one day the weaver comes and cuts the fabric off the loom.

It is done! “He cuts me off from the loom” and your life on earth is over. That is what Hezekiah fears. He says it happens so quickly. “From day to night you bring me to an end”.

An unexpected crisis has brought this man’s life to a grinding halt. Hezekiah became sick and suddenly everything changed and he is not even an old man. He says: “in the middle of my days”.

As we all do, the king assumed to live a long life. He suddenly finds not having many years left and he is in anguish. So many things he still wanted to do, so many good intentions.

Family and friends, let us take this to heart today:

You do not have forever to do what God calls you to do. Seize the day, make most of every opportunity that you have. Redeem the time for it is given to us by God. We must work the works of the One who sent us while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as we are in this world, we are the light, we are Christ to a lost world.

Nothing is more important to use the time now in this world to prepare for the world to come! Use your time for your arrival in the next.

What did Hezekiah fear as he went through this crisis? He feared being separated from loved ones and he feared being cut off and not being able to add anything further to his life.

And then he feared one more thing, that what he fears the most.

God might be against him

“I calmed myself until the morning; like a lion He breaks all my bones; from day to night You bring me to an end” (Isaiah 38:13)

See this picture: The king is lying in his bed at night and he feels as if he is mauled by a lion and that this lion might be Almighty God. Why will a Godly king fears that God might be against him?

The answer is this: A Godly man knows that even at his best, he falls far short from what God has called him to be and to do.

I am so thankful for the honesty of these verses speaking to reality. Hezekiah does not come out of his crisis saying: O, I got to the point of death and I prayed and God miraculously healed me. No, he tells us the inside story, what he experienced, ploughing through the anguish of this unexpected crisis.

He tells us that he felt fragile, that he was anxious and weary. He feared being separated from his loved ones, his life being cut off and what he feared most of all that God might be against him.

This is teaching us something that is extremely important to us today: Believers also experience anguish.

This was the experience of king Hezekiah, a Godly man that walked closely to God. Another example is the apostle Paul.

“For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn – fighting without and fearing within.” (2 Corinthians 7:5)

If the apostle Paul knew what it was to find no rest for his body, couldn’t settle and establish peace with his own heart and mind, and struggles as fear rises up, how much more we will also feel and fear.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father save me from this hour? But for this purpose, I have come to this hour”. (John 12:27)

Even our Lord Jesus Christ said that His soul is troubled. At the last supper Jesus was troubled in His spirit and when He entered the garden of Getsemane He said His soul is overwhelmed with sorrow.

Is that what you feel today as we face these unknown times? If Jesus our Lord knew what it was for His soul to be overwhelmed with sorrow, so do we. Let us settle this in our minds and in our hearts so we are not caught by surprise in the middle of a crisis. It is clear that believers can experience anguish!

What are we to do if we experience what Hezekiah experienced?

We have council and we have hope even in the middle of this unexpected crisis today. Here is what I want to share with you:

Let your anguish lead you to Jesus Christ!

When you fear being separated from loved ones, let your anguish lead you to Jesus. He knows what it is to be separated from your loved ones. At the last supper He said to His disciples that He will not again drink from the fruit of this vine until the day He drink it with them in His Father’s Kingdom. The Scripture says they sung a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. It was the beginning of Jesus being taken from His friends.

Jesus knows what it is to be separated from loved ones. No one has ever loved with a more perfect love than our Lord Jesus Christ. At the cross He trusted the care of his mother into the hands of John.

For many of us in these times the greatest distress is to not being able to be with the ones. But, when you are separated from your loved ones, let your anguish lead you to Jesus!

We are also not able to help one other in the way we use to. Many pastors this day ask what we are to do. Our primary responsibility is to help people to know the Lord is our Shepherd. The sheep belong to God. When we go through the valley of the shadow of death, He will be with us.

The pastor’s function is not to have people looking at him but to help people to look at Jesus. Let the church not compete for popularity and space on media like Facebook and television like populists, but let people look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and not to you.

There is only one Person who can truly say: I will never leave or forsake you. Not a pastor; a brother or sister; a mother or father; or a friend, but only our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:1,4,5)

When you fear, and when you are separated from your loved ones, let your anguish leads you to Jesus.

When you fear being cut off, let your anguish leads you to Jesus.

Jesus knows what it is to be cut off.

“By oppression and judgment, He was taken away; as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living.” (Isaiah 53:8)

Our Lord Jesus died at the age of 33. He could say with Hezekiah: In the middle of my days I must depart.

But here is the good news we celebrate today and every other day: Death could not keep hold of our Lord Jesus Christ! On the third day He rose from the grave!

For those who trust in Him, death; whenever it comes will only be an immediate translation into His presence. The blood of our Lord Jesus had redeemed us that we may have everlasting life.

 Although cut off from loved ones now, nothing can separate us from the love of God. So, when you feel being cut off, let your anguish leads you to Jesus.

And finally, when you fear that God may be against you, let your anguish leads you to Jesus! If God is against you, what chance do you have? None at all. Thank the Lord that God is for us, a love so great that He gave His only Son to die for us so we can be reconciled with Him.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

I want to say to any one who is still resisting the claim of Jesus Christ upon your life: what are you doing? What are you thinking about? You, yes you, resisting Almighty God! What change do you possibly have?

Listen to the good news of the Gospel for God is ready for you to be reconciled to Him today. When Jesus suffered and died for us on the cross, the hand of God was against Him!

When He bore our sins, He was cut off even from the comfort of His Father’s love. That is why He cried out with a loud voice: My God, My God why have you forsaken Me! He was forsaken so that you can be welcomed. He was condemned so that you could be forgiven. He was cast out so that you could be brought in. Yes, He died so that you might live!

If you fear that God may be against you, let your anguish lead you to Jesus!

In Jesus Christ God is for us, and if God is for us who can be against us. He that did not spare His own Son, how will He not graciously give us what we need?

Let us pray:

Our Father in heaven, we pray that the great reality of our lives in this crisis, whatever we endure, leads us closer to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you for all that He means to us and to all of His people in every circumstance of life. Father, as the anguish of these days is very real, grant that we may cling to our Saviour. Help us to know that whatever we need to face these days are in Him. Lord, we also pray for those we love and for many others who do not yet know our Lord Jesus Christ. May they in their anguish, by Your mercy and by Your grace, be led to our Lord Jesus Christ. In His wonderful Name we pray. Amen.

https://youtu.be/S8hfm9NphrY

                                                Sunday 19 April 2020

                                                 Ps Ben Hooman

Good day family and welcome to this service this morning. I thank you for allowing me into your homes again. These extraordinary times we in changed the way we meet on Sundays and I am looking forward to the time when we will meet again as a congregation at church.

Our core Scripture is out of Isaiah 38.

We pick up on the sermon of two weeks ago. As we have seen, this is a story that speaks directly to the situation we find ourselves in. It is a true story of a Godly king, king Hezekiah, who faced an unexpected crisis.

We saw in Isaiah 38:1 that the king got sick and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah visited him with a message from God to set his house in order for he is going to die.

His whole world turned upside down and all his plans now of no effect. A serious crisis always has a devasting effect and changes everything.

Previously we looked at how king Hezekiah responded to this crisis in his life and how we should respond as well as we face a crisis. First seek the face of God in a crisis. We see in Isaiah 38:2,

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said: ‘Please O’ Lord, remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what was right in Your sight’. And Hezekiah wept bitterly”. (Isaiah 38:2)

God answered his prayer, he recovered and God add another 15 years to his life on earth.

From this we learned the very important principle that God is sovereign over all things and his sovereignty includes the prayers of His people. He also responded in another way and we should also seek to live life with a clear conscience. The king could say that he walked with God in faithfulness. He was comforted by the fact that he was at peace with God.

At some stage we will also leave this world and need to enter into the presence of the Lord with a clear conscience. Live therefore in such a way that you are always ready for that day.

Today we will look at the joyful ending of Hezekiah’s crisis, what God did and more importantly how God did it. May this also speak directly to the situation we are in.

“Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: ‘Go and say to Hezekiah, thus says the Lord, the God of David your father; I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold I will add fifteen years to your life.” (Isaiah 38:4, 5)

And then God said in verse 6 that:

“I will deliver you and the city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend the city”. (Isaiah 38:6)

At some stage we will get back to Isaiah 38 verses 7 and 8. We need to get the big picture of this very important chapter as a whole. From verse 9 to 20, we have a testimony written by Hezekiah after he recovered from his sickness. He explains how he felt, what he feared and tells us how he prayed. God willing, we will look at these verses next time.

At the end of Isaiah 38 we have two verses that was added almost as if it was a kind of note but of great importance.

“Now Isaiah had said, ‘Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.’ Hezekiah also had said, ‘What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?” (Isaiah 38:21, 22)

These two verses illustrate for us a principle that is vital for a believer’s wisdom and speaks directly to the crisis we experience today. These are the principles:

God normally works through means, and there is somethings only God can do.

1. God normally works through means

“Now Isaiah had said, ‘Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover”. (Isaiah 38:21)

Here we are given a clue to Hezekiah’s sickness. There was a boil, turned into some kind of dangerous infection within his body that brought him to the point of death.

Isaiah says to the king to take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, a kind of dressing over the infected area. I suppose that this was then often used to draw out the infection. They did not have the means of modern medicine as we have today.

Here is the important principle: God works through means so he must use the means God made available.

Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and he placed this poultice of figs on the boil and God healed him. God worked through this means and we should also use the means that God has available to us.

What if a person say that God will give me strength in my body so I don’t need to eat, or God will keep me warm, so I don’t have to wear warm clothes? Yes, God do give you strength but He strengths your body by the means He gives you which is food.

God works through means. Doctors, nurses and medicine are God’s means to restore health. Builders are God’s means of providing housing, farmers are God’s means of supplying food, teachers are God’s means of giving education, parents are God’s means of guiding and bringing children up in the ways of the Lord. The church is God’s means to gather the saints and to take the gospel to a lost world.

When you get hold of this basic principle, it will give you a proper sense of a believer’s responsibility. It will open your understanding to what God wants you to do.

When you see that God also works through means, you will daily ask how can you be the means that God uses to bring His help and His blessing to someone else and all to His honour and His glory!

This is a very clear and vital Christian principle. It goes to the heart of a believer’s wisdom and very clearly speaks to the crises we face today. A new virus is sweeping through the world.

What should we do? Well, we should pray and use whatever means available as given by God to restrain the progress of this virus. God works through means, so we should wash our hands thoroughly, stay in our homes and practice social distancing. As we do these things, we pray that God will use them to restrain the rapid spread of this virus.

Some have the view that if God wants to protect them, He can do that without our carefulness. Can this be a case of not trusting God but rather tempting Him for God also created us with intellect to guard and protect us and care for other people and live in good health.

In 1527 a deadly plaque was sweeping through Europe and Martin Luther wrote an article calling it: “Whether one may flee from a deadly plaque” and he speaks to those who is much to replace and tempting God and disregarding everything that may counteract death and sickness.

He speaks about how shameful it is for a person to pay no heed to his own body and who fails to protect it the best he can the plaque that can also infect and poisons others for they could have remained alive if taken care of your own body.

He concludes: “I shall ask God mercifully to protect us and I shall fumigate my house, I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order to not become contaminated and pollute others and cause them their death as a result of my negligence”.

Thank God that there are some things we can do to slow the spread of the virus. Let us do that and ask God that He will use these means to grant us relief.

So, here is a principle that is vital to a believer’s wisdom:

God normally also works through means and we should use these means God makes available to us.

There is also a second conclusion we should draw from this principle:

Because it is God who works though means we must thank God when He makes the means effective.

Although God used the poultice of figs, let us look what 2 Kings 20:5 clearly states:

“Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold I will heal you. On the third day you will go up to the house of the Lord”. (2 Kings 20:5)

God healed him!

There is two ways in which we can lose the path of wisdom:

One is to forget the means God uses and the other is to forget that it is God who uses the means!

Isaiah had said: Let them make a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, but God says very clearly that through that means “I will heal you”. When king Hezekiah recovered, he is not saying: O, these figs are the greatest medication! No, he is not saying that but give God thanks for healing him. He knows it is God who has given the means for him to be healed.

When we know that God work through means, we will be grateful for the means that He uses, but also be careful and give God all the glory.

A 17^th century pastor once said: we know that the same treatment for an illness that works well for one person, may not work that well for another person. Why is that? God controls and commands all remedy so that all cures take effect according to His will and His pleasure. Unless God blesses the remedy applied, it will have no effect. Even though the doctors instruct their patients to apply it on various areas, if the Lord chooses not to bless their work, the patient will have no improvement, continuing to give a lesson to both the sick and the doctor. The patient must learn to look to God that medicine will have a good effect. The doctor must pray that his work be blessed by God for the benefit of the patient. In all our troubles, let us turn first to the Lord and pray that He will be pleased to use the means that He has provided.

Think of this in relation to health if you are sick: “Lord use this medicine to make her well, make it effective in her body. Use this chemotherapy to grant relief to his cancer.”

Think of it in a different sphere: Someone has lost his job and you pray to God, how are you going to pray? If you grasp this principle that God works through means, you will pray like this; “Lord give me perseverance in my working and Lord use the connections that you have given to me in order to open an opportunity”. This is how we pray: “Lord guide this child’s parents to brings them up in the ways of the Lord; Lord grant wisdom to the leaders of our country to make the right decisions”.

Do we pray to the Lord to help our children in the exam, or do we ask God to help them in their studies and then trust God to help them in the exam?

Two weeks ago, as we looked at this chapter in Isaiah, we saw that our first response to any crisis is to pray. What have you been praying? What have you been asking God?

God normally work through means and it will shape the way you pray.

When a person recovered from the virus you will be greatful to the doctors and nurses, but you will give glory to God. When a vaccine is finally available, we will be greatful to the scientists but we will praise God for what they have discovered by His grace.

So, God normally works though means, therefore use the means God has made available. But above all, thank God where ever He makes these means effective.

God normally works through means but, also:

2. There are some things that only God can do

“Hezekiah also had said, ‘What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord” (Isaiah 38:22)

Let us look at the significance of this verse. Hezekiah was sick and at the very point of death, being so weak, it must have been hard to believe that God would heal him. So, God gave him a sign.

“Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dail of Ahaz turn back ten steps”. So the sun turned back on the dail the ten steps by which it has declined.” (Isaiah 38:8)

King Hezekiah’s father built a sun dail so that as the sun goes down, there is a creeping shadow that moved down the steps as the sun goes down. God said that He will give a sign that as the sun is going down, the shadow will go in the opposite direction.

“So, the sun turned back on the dail the ten steps by which it had declined” (Isaiah 38:8)

Something only God Himself can do! Imagine Hezekiah lying in his bed at the point of death, and he look out like every afternoon to see the time. But on this day the shadow moves up the steps in the opposite direction! Only God can make it happen and the king thought to himself: There is hope!

Why did God give this miraculous sign?

“This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has promised.” (Isaiah 38:7)

God says to Hezekiah: I am the one that heals. When I do that, I want you to know that I am the one who did it!

To get a clear picture of what happened that day we need to look at 2 Kings 20. It begins with exactly the same words as in Isaiah 38. The king got sick and Isaiah coming to tell him that he is going to die. The king then turned to the wall and pray to the Lord. In 2 Kings 20:4 we have an addition to this effect:

“And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.” (2 Kings 20:4,5)

Let us summarise of what happened that day:

• Hezekiah became sick to the point of death
• Isaiah came to him telling him that God said he must get his house in order for he is going to die
• Hezekiah turn to the wall and pray to the Lord
• Isaiah leaves the king’s bedroom but before he got out of the palace, God said to him to turn around and go back to the king. 2 Kings 20:4,5 there was immediate answer of the king’s prayer
• Isaiah goes back and says to the king to put a cake of figs on the infected area, that God has heard the prayer of the king and that God will heal him and he will go up to the house of the Lord on the third day
• Hezekiah then asks what the sign is.
• Isaiah told him that God will do something that only God can do, He will make the shadow turn back and go in the opposite direction

Now that is the story.

Why is it in the Bible?

What we have here is the true story of a Godly king who was at the point of death and God heard his prayer and raised him up from his sickness on the third day.

The whole Bible points us to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! The King of kings and the Lord of lords! Not only at the point of death, but He died so we can have life. Raising the dead is something only God can do. Raised on the third day that you may have life for eternity.

And this is our hope! Resurrection is our hope. Jesus Christ became the means to not die but to have life.

What is the sign that we can go up to the house of the Lord? What is the sign that I am protected by God in these times? I can now dwell in the presence of the Lord. I can now pray to God and know that He will give me the means to receive what I pray according to His will. And as I pray, I know that he is in control and I will give Him all the glory! That is the hope of the gospel!

https://youtu.be/7kip9aGH3RY

Sermon by Ps Ben Hooman

What a privilege to celebrate with you the resurrection or our Lord Jesus Christ this day.

Our core Scripture will be out of Romans chapter 1.

The good news we share this morning is not so much about us, but about our Lord Jesus Christ. We connect not to celebrate ourselves, but to worship Him. We sin and we die.

So, hope does not lie in us. Hope lies outside of us. It is in God’s Son.

The good news according to apostle Paul in the first chapter of Romans is about God’s Son. It is good news for us as we become His and He becomes ours. Why Is the “Son of God” good news for us?

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord”. (Romans 1:1- 4)

God’s Son is good news because He is Lord!

“The gospel of God… regarding His Son… Jesus Christ our Lord.”

If you getting attacked, and someone comes to help you, the first thing you want to know is, “How strong is he?” If you are having financial challenges and someone is willing to pay your bills, the first thing you want to know is, “How much does he have and how much is he willing to help with?”

The Son of God has infinite capacity! All power and authority in heaven and earth belong to Him (Matthew 28:18). A Saviour who is not Lord is of no use to us because he could easily be overwhelmed by a higher power.

But there is good news regarding God’s Son because He is Lord. His will gets accomplished, and no one can stop Him.

God’s Son is good news because He became a man

“The gospel of God… regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David.” (Romans 1:1, 3)

What does the Son of God, who has all power and all authority, have to do with us? How can He relate to us?

He took our nature! He was born of the virgin, Mary. He came to us, and stood with us, to act for us. Jesus Christ knows your life better than any pastor, counsellor, family member or friend. He knows human life from the inside. He gets it. He is our Saviour. And when you know that He experienced our life, it is easy to come to Him.

We don’t have a Saviour that is out there somewhere remotely from us.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

This is the good news because He became man!

God’s Son is also good news because He rose from the dead

“The gospel of God… regarding his Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:1, 3-4)

God’s Son is good news because He rose from the dead! That is our focus today, and I want you to see three reasons why the resurrection is good news:

1. The Resurrection Declares What Was Already True

“[He] was declared… to be the son of God by His resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)

Notice the word “declared!” The resurrection was an affirmation, an authentication, a demonstration, a declaration that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus did not become the Son of God through the resurrection. He was the Son of God in eternity, with the Father and the Spirit in heaven.

He was the Son of God in the virgin’s womb. He was the Son of God as He lay in the manger, and as He walked the streets of Nazareth. He was the Son of God when He died on the cross. He was the Son of God when He rose on the third day. He was the Son of God when He ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven. And He will be the Son of God when He comes again in power and glory.

Being the Son of God was not something that was added to Jesus as a reward for living a good life. No, the resurrection declared what was already true.

Suppose someone comes to a diamond dealer with a nice shinny diamond. The first question is going to be, “Is this authentic or is it a fake?” The dealer will want to run tests on the diamond. He will use different means to establish its authenticity.

After the dealer has run the tests, and he has confirmation, then he will declare that the diamond is genuine. The declaration does not make of the diamond a diamond. It recognizes, authenticates, announces, and demonstrates what was already true.

That is what happened at the resurrection! Jesus was declared to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. This declaration challenges all other evaluations of Jesus.

Some people consider Jesus a great teacher, but great teachers don’t rise from the dead. Other people think Jesus is a good example, a source of wisdom, or an inspirational model. But good citizens, wise men, and inspiring leaders do not rise from the dead.

Jesus was crucified because He said, “I am the Son of God.” The High Priest charged Jesus under oath, “Tell us if you are the Son of God.” Jesus replied, “It is as you say” (Matthew 26:63-64). They all said, “He is worthy of death” (Matthew 26:66). In the judgment hall, Jesus says, “I am the Son of God.” At the cross the people say, “No. You are not.” In the resurrection, God says, “Yes, He is!”

The resurrection declares that Jesus is the Son of God!

He lays claim to your life, your love, your loyalty, your time, your talent, and your energy, your childhood, your youth, your middle years, and your retirement.

The last 2,000+ years have seen endless debates about Jesus. More has been written about Him than any other person.

In the resurrection, God says, “I am making a declaration. This is my Son!” This declaration is for us! The angels know who He is. The demons know who He is.

God is speaking to you in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says, “This is My Son. Listen to Him. Turn to Him. Come to Him. Follow Him. Learn from Him. Worship Him. Trust Him.”

2. The Resurrection Reveals What Was Previously Hidden

“[He] was declared… to be the Son of God with power by His resurrection from the dead” (Roman 1:4)

There are two ways to read this: Some translations say, “He was declared with power to be the Son of God…” That would mean that the resurrection is a powerful statement that Jesus is the Son of God. In the original Greek language, it says, “He was declared to be the Son of God with power…”

I think that is how we should understand what Paul says here. He was declared to be the Son of God with power, by his resurrection from the dead.

“For He was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God.” (2 Corinthians 13:4).

Jesus, the Son of God, was seen in weakness.

Jesus had always been the Son of God, but during his life on earth, He had been the Son of God in weakness. Think of Him lying in the manger—helpless—needing to be fed and clothed. Look at Him in the wilderness—hungry, tired, tempted—receiving the help of angels.

People did not look at Jesus and say, “This is God in the flesh.” They said, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Luke 4:22). “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). “He saved others, but He can’t save himself” (Matthew 27:42).

The glory of the Son of God was hidden throughout most of his earthly life. His power was demonstrated in the miracles, but normally, only a few people saw them. When Jesus performed a miracle, He often told the person who was healed not to tell anyone else (Matthew 8:4).

He knew that His time had not yet come (John 2:4). Even among His disciples, it was three years before Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16).

Before that they were saying, “Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him?” (Mark 4:41).

Strung up on a cross, crying out in agony, forsaken by the Father, Jesus could hardly have looked like the Son of God.

But now He rises from the dead! No longer the Son of God in weakness, He is declared to be the Son of God with power! The resurrection reveals what was previously hidden: Jesus is the Son of God with power!

Once He was crucified in weakness, but now He has been raised in power! The Son of God is not on the cross now. He is not suffering in anguish.

He is risen, exalted, seated at the right hand of the Father. He is saving sinners, sustaining His people, giving the Holy Spirit, pouring out gifts on His church, ready to return in glory bringing His saints with Him.

See this, this sight that is so glorious. See how Jesus, the man of sorrows returned victorious!

Yes, every knee to Him will bow that Jesus is the Son of God with power!

Maybe you have been discouraged by a powerless religion. You know about rituals, traditions, and disciplines, but nothing that changes your life. Your religion is full of things you do, but none of them makes you different. There’s no power!

The resurrection reveals what may have been hidden to you: Jesus is the Son of God with power! He is able to give you peace with God. He is able to make you a new creation. He is able to give you the Holy Spirit.

 He is able to sustain you in your darkest hour. He is able to give you victory over sin. He is able to fill you with a new love for God and for others. He is able to bring you through death and into His presence in heaven.

There is hope for you in Christ. The risen Son of God has power to change your life, power to forgive sin, power to give the Holy Spirit, and power to open heaven.

3. The Resurrection Begins What Was Long Ago Promised

“He was declared… to be the Son of God with power by his resurrection from the dead…” (Roman 1:4)

When Paul speaks about the resurrection of Jesus here, he speaks about it in a way that includes our resurrection. Literally translated, what he says is, “He was declared to be the Son of God with power by a resurrection of dead persons.”

The resurrection of Jesus is good news because it is the first resurrection of many that will follow. Christ is the “first fruits” of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20).

Jesus said, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19), “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25).

The full glory of the Son of God will be seen, not only in His resurrection, but also in yours.

Jesus is the head of a new family

The Bible speaks about Christ as the head of a new family, a community of people drawn from every nation who share what belongs to him:

“For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, ‘I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing you praise.’ And again, I will put My trust in Him. And again, behold I and the children God has given Me.” (Hebrews 2:10-13)

Sons… family… brothers… children

The Son of God became man, endured the agonies of death on the cross, and rose from the dead to bring many sons to glory.

 God, in His great mercy, has chosen to take sinners like us and to conform us to the image of His Son. Paul says that Jesus will be the “firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).

Here we are in this fallen world—full of God’s goodness—and yet at the same time, plagued with the scourge of human sin and death.

No man overcomes sin. No man can avoid death. Sin reigned over us. Death reigned over us.

God’s Son became a man, and came to us in our helplessness. He has done what no other man could do—lived a sinless life. He has offered what no other man could offer—he laid this sinless life down as a sacrifice for our sins. He has gone where no other man could go—through death and into everlasting life, now in the presence of His Father in heaven.

There is a Man without sin. There is a Man who has conquered death. There is a Man in heaven, and He is there for us. He is our hope.

That’s why the Bible ends, with a vast crowd that no one can number, singing in the presence of Jesus,

“You are worthy… because with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God!” (Revelation 5:9-10).

Then the angels join in:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise” (Revelation 5:12).

Believe what God says to you.

Jesus is the Son of God. He was declared to be the Son of God by is resurrection from the dead!

This is what the resurrection says to us. Rejoice in what Christ has done for you. He has the power to save you, to redeem you, and to change you. He is the Son of God with power. He has triumphed and His victory is yours! There is hope for you in Jesus Christ.

Lay hold of what He offers to you. He is truly the Son of God with power!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gE75Irvw1g&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

                                                Friday 10 April 2020

                                                     Ps Ben Hooman

My work is never finished, God has given me commandments, the same as given to all of us. We are all in the same position and it is not finished yet. We never can get to the point that we can say we have done everything God has called us to do.

Thank God that Christ’s work is finished! Therefore I can rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ. That is the only way I can have peace with God, the only way I can have assurance and the only way I can enter into heaven. I am not resting on my unfinished work but on the finished work of Christ.

That is the message today. We can rest on the atoning work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God is about the atonement. Someone once said “one to meant”, bringing us in one with God by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross where He deals with our sins so that everyone that is separated from God, has an avenue back to God in faith and repentance.

This is at the very heart of the Gospel. Every believer needs to know what happened at the cross for it is at the centre of our faith.

Jesus spoke certain words on the cross. In the first three hours He hung there, between nine and noon on that day He spoke only three words. Then at noon darkness came over the whole land and for the next three hours He did not say a single word. He was our sin bearer and in that darkness He was plunged into all dimensions of hell. Then He cried out in a loud voice saying: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me!” A sudden sequence of events followed and Jesus said: “It is finished!”

Let us read from John 19:30;

“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit”. (John 19:30)

What a privilege to minister on these words today. Jesus has come through the agony of His suffering, enduring all the pains of hell. He has cried out from the depths, but now He’s announcing his victory. He moves into death, not defeated, but triumphant: “It is finished.”

These are the greatest and most momentous words that were ever spoken upon earth since the beginning of the world. In these words chains are broken and prison walls fall down!

I am praying that this will be your experience as your hear these words of Jesus today. May you find this helpful: It is finished! Christ finished. You haven’t. But with Him, you will.

 “It is finished” (John 19:30)

What was finished?

1. The long night of His suffering

John described how someone held up a sponge soaked in vinegar on a stick, and the apostle says, “When Jesus had received the drink, he said ‘It is finished.’”

This was the end of his tremendous suffering. Jesus knows suffering from the inside—more than anyone has ever known it. But He is not suffering now. He’s done with that. It is finished. He’s not in the grave either. He’s at the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us.

That is of massive importance for us. A suffering world needs a Saviour who knows about suffering.

We need a Saviour who has triumphed over suffering. That is what we have in Jesus. He was plunged into indescribable suffering, but He was not overcome by it. He came through it and he triumphed in victory.

What was finished?

2. The full course of his obedience

Remember why Jesus came into the world. The Son of God became a man to live the life you and I would have had to live in order to enter heaven. Jesus lived the perfect life. There was no sin in Him. The night before He died, He was able to say to His Father:

 “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do” (John 17:4).

Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish law but to fulfil it.” (Matthew 5:17). Every commandment of God was fulfilled in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Throughout His life, Jesus loved God the Father with all His heart, soul mind and strength, and He loved His neighbour as Himself. He’s the only person who has ever done it. Jesus’ perfect life of obedience was now complete and He was about to lay it down, so He said, “It is finished.”

What was finished?

3. The decisive battle with his enemy

The life of Jesus was a life of suffering, it was a life of obedience, but it was also a life of conflict with our great enemy the devil. Look at the world today: Where does evil come from? Why do so many marriages fail? Why do wars keep happening? Why this virus?

Jesus spoke with absolute clarity about the devil. Confronting the devil was the first act of Jesus’ public ministry. The Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Throughout His ministry we see Jesus casting out evil spirits that were holding human lives in bondage.

The story of this conflict goes back to the beginning. Satan tempted Adam and Eve and led them into sin that caused them to lose the joys of being always in the presence of God.

As they enter the knowledge of evil, they came under the power of the evil one. That’s our story ever since. That explains what we see around us today. But God promised that a Redeemer would come, saying to Satan:

“He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel”. (Genesis 3:15).

 What a picture! The Redeemer stamps on the head of the snake, crushing it, and in the same act, the snake bites His foot with deadly poison. That is precisely what happened at the cross. In Christ’s death he breaks the devil’s power:

“Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).

You might expect the Bible to say, “Jesus triumphed over satan by the resurrection,” and that’s true, but that’s not what it says here. It says Christ “triumphed over satan by the cross.

At the cross, satan was the gambler who knew he was losing, and running out options and was forced to put everything on the table. Jesus swept the boards and then he said, “It is finished.”

When Jesus died, he went beyond the reach of satan. Satan could no longer tempt Him. The devil could no longer afflict Him or cause Him to suffer. When Jesus went into death, it was “game over” for the devil and “game on” for us. The decisive battle with the enemy had been won.

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:14,15)

The Son of God became man. He fulfilled the law of God, and then laid down His life as a sacrifice for us. He is able to save sinners and there is nothing that satan can do to stop Him! It is finished!

What was finished?

4. The complete work of his atonement

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to give His life as a ransom for many, and on the cross He says, “It is finished.” He has borne the guilt of our sins. He has endured the punishment of our hell. The divine wrath has been spent on Him. The justice of God has been satisfied in Him.

The perfect sacrifice has been offered. Complete atonement has been made. Hell has been vanquished. The condemnation has been removed.

Now the Redeemer says, “It is finished.”

What can be added to Jesus’ redemptive work, His death and resurrection? It is finished! His long night of suffering is over. He’s no longer on the cross. The full course of His obedience is over. The decisive battle with His enemy is over. Christ finished. You haven’t. But with Him you will!

You Haven’t

There was only one Person in the history of the world who could ever truly say, “It is finished.” No one will be able to say it when they die, because no one will be able to say it while they live. None of us will be able to say to God “I brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” I haven’t been able to say this of a single day of my life.

As a believer in Christ, you have begun the work of all the commandments, but you have not finished the work of any! I cannot identify a single day of my life that I could say, “I lived that day to perfection.”

Every day of the week, we are in the position of saying, “We have done the things we ought not to have done. We have not done the things we ought to have done.” And that will never change this side of heaven. You may grow in your walk with God, but you will never move beyond being a believing sinner.

Sinners on earth can never say, “It is finished,” and neither can sinners in hell. Christ finished. You haven’t. But with Him you will.

With Him You Will

Here’s what you get when Jesus is yours. Or rather, here’s what is yours “in Christ.” Jesus completed the work of atonement, so…

1. …In Christ you are forgiven, accepted and loved.

If you are in Christ, you don’t have to do something else to be loved and accepted. All that you need is in Christ. If He is yours then love, forgiveness and acceptance are yours. You are accepted in His love! (Ephesians 1:6 KJV).

Jesus completed the full course of obedience, so…

2. …In Christ you have already lived a righteous life.

Jesus has lived it for you. If your hope of heaven rested on your works, it could never stand. Your works are not complete; they’re not finished. If your hope depends on your own works, something you had to do in addition to what He has done, your hope could never stand.

But when your hope of heaven rests on Christ’s work, that hope is secure, because Christ’s work is complete, “It is finished.” The law says, ‘do this’, and it is never done. But grace says, ‘believe in this’, and everything is done already.

Some of us are living under the law and it is never done. You will never have joy as long as you live under the law.

In Christ you have already lived a righteous life. He lived it for you. You are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). Just as your sins were laid on Jesus and counted as His. His righteousness is counted as yours.

 “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus completed the decisive victory over satan, so…

3. …In Christ the devil is a defeated foe.

Some of you look at your past, at your family history and you can see the work of satan, the destroyer, running over generations. You wonder if some kind of curse hangs over your family. You ask, “What does this mean for me?”

Remember that no curse can stand if you are in Christ. How could it? He won the decisive victory over satan on the cross. For you to enter into this victory asks for the renewing of the mind to know who you are in Christ.

Maybe you find yourself overwhelmed by the strong pull of temptation. Satan knows your weakness and he has been running rampant in your life because of it. You have failed so many times that you’ve got to the place where you can hardly imagine prevailing over this enemy.

In Christ your enemy is a defeated foe!

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him give us all things (Romans 8:31,32).

Jesus completed the long night of his suffering, so…

4. …In Christ your suffering will lead to glory.

No suffering lasts forever. Weeping endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Look at the resurrection body and the new creation. All this is yours when Christ is yours—no more sin; no more pain; no more tears; no more death. Christ finished. You haven’t. But with Him you will!

What to Do With a Completed Work

Believe it

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was surrounded by darkness, and He was two breaths away from death. Simply hearing that Jesus said this is not going to change your life, but believing it will.

As He hung there in the darkness, it hardly looked like satan’s power was broken. It hardly looked like hell’s gates were splintered. It hardly looked like death’s sting was drawn.

A week after Jesus died, the world did not look very different. The same was true after another month, another year, another century, another millennium. Is the world different than the day Jesus said this?

Caesar was still on the imperial throne, selfishness and pride still dominated high places, the hearts of many seemed to become no better but rather worse with the passing of time.

When Jesus said, “It is finished.” this was a cry of faith, a cry anticipating all that would come from His completed suffering, His perfect life, His atoning death and His decisive victory.

It means this is a cry that must be embraced by faith. Most people have heard the words, “It is finished,” but the question is: Do you believe that “It is finished?” It was not obvious then and it is not obvious now, except to the one who has faith in Jesus.

Hebrews 2:8 to 10 makes it clear how you live a life of faith.

“Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside His control. At present we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him. But we see Him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:8, 9)

That’s what the Bible says. “But we see Jesus”. What do we see? We see wars. We see cancer. We see viruses. We do not see everything subject to Jesus.

And what is Jesus doing? Making the world a better place? Putting an end to human suffering? Ridding the world of evil? He never says any of these things. He is “Bringing many sons to glory,” and he is able to do this for you!

“For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the Founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” (Hebrews 2:10)

How does that happen? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in the middle of the difficulties you are facing today, in this crises we all face here and now. Believe that “it is finished,” and as you believe, what He accomplished at the cross will become yours!

Proclaim it

It is our privilege to share the gospel. It really is good news, which is what it means.

Think about what happens when a king triumphs in battle. He sends back messengers to proclaim victory. They sound the trumpets, “The battle has been won. The king has triumphed and the enemy is defeated. Now we can live in the peace and joy that flows from this victory.”

But if the king loses the battle, he sends back military advisers who say, “Man the gates. Prepare for battle. The enemy will be here soon. We all need to fight for our lives.”

Do you see the difference? Either the battle is won and we can live in the joy of it, or it is lost and we must prepare to fight ourselves. Every religion in the world says in some way, “You need to fight for your life. Say the prayers. Do the good works. Observe the disciplines.”

But in the gospel Jesus says, “It is finished.” King Jesus has won the victory and He invites all who will come to Him to share in its spoils. Our mission is not to ask people to do something for God, but to announce what God has done through Christ! We need to say; “Make this yours! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ! Enter into the good of all that He has won!”

Enjoy it

It’s natural for us to feel we need to make a contribution to our salvation, but how can you contribute to something that’s already complete?

You can’t. When a new house is built, you don’t keep building, you move in and enjoy it. When a new road is opened, you don’t start digging, you get in the car and enjoy it. When a gift is given, you don’t start paying for it, you receive it and you start enjoying it.

Is He your Saviour? Christ finished. You haven’t. But with Him you will. 

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in his finished work today.

https://youtu.be/F1VJFGbSTRo

We live in extraordinary times that ask for different ways of connecting with you. Please open your Bibles with me today and put a marker at Isaiah 38 and 2 Kings 18.

Isaiah 38 tells the story of a severe sickness that afflicted King Hezekiah and he prayed to the Lord and the Lord helped him.

What a gripping story about an unexpected crisis. Who of us could imagine that we will find ourselves in the middle of a life-threatening crisis this day?

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open our spiritual eyes and our hearts to hear what God say to us in these times.

We focus on the first three verses of Isaiah 38 beginning with the first part of verse 1:

“In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death.”

Isaiah 38:1

“In those days” – The people of God were under attack for the king of Assyria invaded the promised land from the north attacking the ten tribes of Northern kingdom of Israel that was independent from the line of David. They got completely scattered and Assyria turned its focus on the Southern kingdom of Israel demanding the surrender of king Hezekiah.

King Hezekiah was a direct descendent of David and ruled in Jerusalem in the south. Hezekiah then took the letter demanding his surrender to the king of Assyria into the temple of the Lord. He kneeled out before God with this letter and prayed from his heart saying:

“O Lord our God, save us, please from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You, o Lord, are God alone.”

2 Kings 19:19

God answered his prayer in a remarkable way. But another crisis came to Hezekiah as seen in 2 Kings 20 as exactly described in Isaiah 38:

“In those days Hezekiah became sick”. So here is a king who stood before God interceding for his people, praying for the deliverance of God’s people and his prayers being answered.

But suddenly this great king whose prayers were answered is now sick and staring death in the face, facing a life-threatening crisis.

Before we get to this story, let us first look at who Hezekiah was in those days. He was one of the best kings of God’s people in all of the old covenant, the son of king Ahaz who reigned in Judea whilst Hosea ruled in Israel. Ahaz was one of the worst kings of that time. Ahaz burnt his own son and the Bible says and did not what was right in God’s eyes.

There is someone that needs to hear this: like Hezekiah God can take a nothing and make of him a something. No matter what your lineage, no matter what your past, our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed you and can turn your life around to walk closely with God!

Hezekiah lived a good and righteous life in the sight of God. He was man of great faith for he trusted in the Lord:

“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. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following Him, but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him, wherever he went out, he prospered.”

2 Kings 18:5-7

What a great accolade. How great will it be if someone can say this of us. But this man became sick and was at the point of death. A painful affliction came to a Godly man at the worst possible time. God’s people have been plunged into a severe crisis.

Anyone that have experienced a serious sickness will understand, receiving treatment for cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. And currently we all are caught up in a health crisis of unknown proportions.

Why will God allow this? A Godly king doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. He became so sick that he was at the point of death.

And then he receives a pastoral visit by the prophet Isaiah saying to him that he will not recover.

“And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, ‘Thus say the Lord ‘set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”

Isaiah 38:1

Isaiah, a true prophet of God speaking the words of God!

You might now say that this is not what we want to hear in this crisis we are in. But this is a story of hope in a time of an unknown crisis. This story has a very good ending. Hezekiah recovers and God gave him another 15 years to live.

What is the value of this story? As we look at the life-threatening crisis we facing, we not at the end of it, not in the middle of it but at the beginning of it. That is exactly where Hezekiah finds himself in Isaiah 38:1.

What is God saying to us in this time of uncertainty and concerns of what will happen? What about my job; my finances; how long is going to continue; will my family be save and many other questions arising in a time like this.

How did king Hezekiah respond to his situation? I want us to look at two ways he responded.

1. He seeks the face of God in prayer

“Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord,” Isaiah 38:2

This king at the point of death, greatly weakened when the prophet came to him. When Hezekiah heard this news that he is going to die, he turns his head to the wall and starts praying to the Lord.

Isaiah is still in the room. The king must have had many questions to ask the man of God. How long will I still live? What about my people?

We will at a later stage look at what he is praying, but we are given a summary:

“O restore me to health and make me live!” Isaiah 38:16

God heard his prayers restored his health. What can we get from this truth?

God’s sovereignty includes the prayers of His people! Isaiah said that the king will die and that he must set his house in order. If Hezekiah did not pray, not seeking the face of God first in prayer, what would have happened?

God is sovereign in all things and His sovereignty includes the prayers of the righteous. We don’t know what God is doing and we should not pretend to know what He is doing.

The first reaction of a Godly heart is to seek God in prayer. Let the others do the analysis, the why, the when and the where, but those in Christ first seeks the Lord and pray.

That should be our first response to a crisis.

• Seek to live with a clear conscience

“Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight” Isaiah 38:3

Was he bargaining with God? I don’t think so. Godly people acknowledge their sinful nature. The first response he made is that if he dies, he is at peace with God for he has a clear conscience. He most probably thought like the apostle Paul; I have thought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Why did he have a clear conscience? He didn’t live a perfect sinless life, no, only our Lord Jesus Christ is without sin.

“Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.” Isaiah 38:17

Hezekiah was ready to leave this life here and now.

Our second challenge and encouragement as we face this health crisis, as we face the unknown, is to seek to live with a clear conscience.

For us to live in such a way that we are ready for that day. To live right with God and with other people because we know that one day that day will come for us too.

Hezekiah walked before God in faithfulness, seeking wholeheartedly what is good and right in God’s sight. A man of faith that had a clear conscience. That is what comforted him in his crisis,

A crisis always brings out the best and the worst out of people. We already experience this as we are in the beginning of this crisis.

Some will become angry; some will be ready to blame others. We already saw the aspect of selfishness as people have stockpiling food.

There will also be deeds of kindness as people think of the common good of others. We will also see great acts of courage, especially from those in the frontline fighting this attack on mankind.

May the Lord help us to live through this crisis in such a way that we are ready for the day we are called home. Lord help us to walk in faithfulness and help us to do what is good and right.

We need to pray and seek God’s face first and we need to be right with God.

I am closing with the last part of Isaiah 38:3.

“And Hezekiah wept bitterly” Isaiah 38:3

I belief he wept for this reason: He knew his work is not yet finished. God has promised a King that will bring hope to the whole world, this hope that we walk in now and here!

This King by prophesy should come through the line of David. Hezekiah was a descendent in that line of David. At that time Hezekiah had no son. As he prayed to God, God gave him another 15 years. God’s promise had to be fulfilled. For Hezekiah he needed to live to have a son.

He lived for fifteen years and the Bible tells us that his son Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign in Jerusalem.

Maybe you have not yet in these times of crisis sought the face of the Lord in prayer and cannot say that you have a clear conscience.

How can we make right with God? For this reason, Jesus came to this world to die for you, to redeem you and put you in right standing with God. He made a way for your sins to be forgiven.

He is the way to the Father that allows us to seek the Lord in prayer. As we come to Him and repent, he cleanses our conscience. He is the great King that Hezekiah points to!

It is Jesus that overcame death and is ready to give you everlasting life.

Kneel before him, yes turn your head and seek Him in prayer right now. Repent of your sinful nature and ask for forgiveness. Invite Him into your heart and acknowledge Him as Lord of your life. He gives you a clear conscience and the Holy Spirit is ready to walk with you in this new life where you will be God’s child.

Sunday 29 August 2020

 Ps Ben Hooman

What a privilege to serve God and serve His people this morning. I hope you have your Bibles ready and also a cup and bread to share in community together this morning.

Please open your Bibles at the letter of Peter; 1 Peter 3:14, 15.

During these times we will use different means to continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

In the current situation in our country, the Lord lay it on my heart not to carry on with the Beatitudes this Sunday, but to bring a message on hope.

The whole Bible, the Word of God for Christ is the Word, is filled with hope for Christ is our hope!

God willing, we will carry on with the Blessed series next week. But today I want to bring a message of hope that will help us to respond to the challenge that we are facing.

It is true that we enter a time of the unknown. Never had we face a virus like this and never were we confined to our homes for 21 days. A worldly fear became our reality when the President announced a 21day lockdown!

The fact is that we enter a time of challenges, a time where personal finances will be under severe pressure. Although there will be food and water, cash flow will be hugely affected.

But as I pray to God in this time, my mind keeps going to how a Christian should respond to these current fears and fear in general. Fear, fear of the unknown, and it is here we seek help from the Word of God today.

Fear of the unknown

So, we going to look at the issue of fear and I invite you to turn with me to 1 Peter 3:14 -15 where we read these words:

 “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled. But in your hearts honour Christ the Lord” 

Peter 3:14 -15

Peter is writing to believers who are in the shadow of horrible persecution and death. These believers had not yet experienced such uncertainty, facing trails and persecution:

“Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you”

1 Peter 4:12

We are facing our own trails and challenges today. Some of us are afraid that our freedoms are being eroded, and that we may not enjoy the blessings that have been given to us.  We are deeply burdened for loved ones who do not honour Christ.  We see them making bad choices, where will it lead to, where will it end!

Often the fear of what lies ahead is harder to bear than the reality: What will I do if…? How will I cope when…?

The Bible also talks about “the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4). What is that? That shadow can sometimes be worse than the reality.

People who are seriously ill has often said: “Pastor, it’s not dying that I am afraid of, but the whole process that leads up to it.”

So, these Christians were in the most difficult position of their time. They are facing the fear of violence, the fear of persecution, the fear of death and the fear of loved ones being lost. Peter, who is their pastor and shepherd, is writing to help them face their fears.

This same theme of do not fear, is at the heart of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ message. When the angel appears at the birth of Christ, his first words was: “Fear not… I bring you good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10).

Why did Jesus come into the world? What is the incarnation all about? There are many answers in the New Covenant, but the book of Hebrews gives us this one: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Heb. 2:14-15)

Does this describe our situation today? There’s a real fear, and it is sweeping across the country. What is going to happen next? How long will this carry on? Will we survive it? How can I tell my children, my elderly parents, they will be ok? Many people are caught up in a lifelong fear, a livelong slavery, being slaves of fear.

But Jesus Christ came into the world precisely for this reason: For us to be delivered from living in chronic and enslaving fear danger, also this day as many fears the corona virus.

Distinctive Testimony

This should be the area of our most distinctive testimony!

Yes, there is a real fear in the country. People are afraid, but God says to us in Isaiah 8:12: “Do not fear what they fear”. Exactly what Peter is also quoting here.

Peter says to the believers, “Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet. 3:15 NIV). People were looking at Christians saying to them, “You ought to be really afraid.” But they weren’t, instead they were filled with hope! The early Christians were people of hope living in a culture of fear. They too were concerned for their families. They too wonder what the future holds. But they were marked more by hope than by fear.

We live in a culture where many have rejected the message of Christ. Many these days are drawn to think again about the message of Christ that they have rejected.

So then, what is the reason for the hope that is in you? This hope when there is a real fear in everyone else? Sometimes it seems that there is as much fear in the church as there is in the world.

So, we want to pose two questions today:

1. Why is it that there are so many fearful Christians? 

2. How can we as Christians overcome our fears?

Many of us would say, “Have no fear of them!

Pastor, it’s great to read of it in the Bible but I’m not there yet! Well, why are we not there yet? How can we get there?

Q: Why are there so many fearful Christians?

A: Because the self-exalting spirit of the world has so widely entered the Church.

A true Christian is a person who submits his or her whole life to the authority, to the lordship of Jesus Christ. 

This is the total opposite of the great movements of our time. Both within our own culture and around the world. Just look how churches and pastors in these times compete for their own thrones, their own kingdoms! In times to bring Jesus to a lost people, a time to bring hope, they promote themselves and not what God can do for us. Churches walking in fear of losing followers; losing money; losing platform!

Always test your church by its motives. Is Christ on the throne of your church? Whose name does the church promote. Is it the Name above all names or is it the name of self?

What are the great things in the Bible that God does with regard to humanity? God brings about the beginning of life. God makes us male and female. God tells us what marriage is. God determines the timing our death.

Now think about the great social issues that are at the centre of so much controversy in our time. One thing ties them together: We have been assuming for ourselves the right to do the things that belong to God.

We want to determine the beginning of life: Which children should come to birth and which should not see the light of day. We want to make gender a matter of personal choice. We want to define marriage who it is for and who not. We want to determine our life here and now. And with the same frame of mind, we want the ‘right’ to determine the time and circumstances of our own death.

But the same impulse is at work in each of these cases. We are putting ourselves in the place of God. We want to remove Him from the throne. We want to occupy the place of supreme authority over all things ourselves.  We have welcomed and embraced the proposal of satan in the garden of Eden: “You shall be as God.” 

Precisely the same problem lies at the root of facing this violent virus. This violent virus that is causing so much fear around the world today.

Think about who God is: God is the judge, and judgment belongs to Him.  He is the One who, on the last day, will bring the unbeliever to judgment. 

What is our response to a world in which men and women are increasingly putting themselves in the place of God? 

The first thing is to say that this cultural Christianity that pervades our country can offer no response whatsoever. Why am I saying this? Because many of us have been raised with and shaped by a diminished gospel that says, “God loves you and all you have to do is say ‘yes’. Say yes to Him and you will be safe, you will be secure, and blessed forever.” 

So, people say “yes” to God and then spend the rest of their lives in some degree of irritation or resentment. Where is this God then, to whom they have said “yes”? Why has He not made their lives as they would want it to be?

Do we see what has happened? What is wrong with this picture? What is actually going on? We see ourselves as the ones on the throne of God! And God as the one to serve us by making our lives as we want it to be. That is why the church has, in large measure, been influenced by the same self-exalting spirit that is causing so much fear in our world.

The first word of the gospel is that there is a sovereign Lord who lays claim to the whole of your life. The second word is that you are a sinner who deserves nothing but judgment from God. The third word is that He has sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world as our Saviour, who alone is able to bring peace and reconciliation between you and God. The fourth word is that this Saviour can be yours, as you turn to Him in faith and in repentance and surrender all unto Him!

This leads us to the second question:

Q: How can we as Christians overcome our fears?

A: In your hearts, honour Christ the Lord.

“Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord”.

1 Pet. 3:14-15

Peter is telling us how we can overcome our fears. If you are the lord of your life, everything that you cannot control will cause you to fear. What if there is no money? What if one of my children choose the wrong path? What if I get the virus? What if I get retrenched?

But when Christ is the Lord of your life, you have confidence for He is Lord of your life. He is on the throne! Jesus Christ was sovereign over your birth, He is sovereign over your life, and He will be sovereign over your death.

Sovereign over your birth:

That of all the millions of people who could potentially have come from the union of your father and your mother, God has chosen you! Created you! In great love and mercy, he planned you to be for all eternity!

Sovereign over your life:

All that has happened to you, the good you have enjoyed and the evil you have suffered, was known to God before the beginning of time. Yes, life is full of surprises, unexpected twists and turns, challenges, but nothing ever comes as a surprise to God. He is all knowing! God works through all that has happened in your past and whatever will happen in the future. He will advance the great purpose he has for you. 

This is what the apostle Paul is talking about when he says,

“For those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). 

God’s good purpose for you is to be a reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ, for His glory here and now. A reflection of His hope in times like this.

Sovereign over your death:

Jesus Christ is in complete control of the timing, the circumstances, and the outcome of your death, which for a Christian believer, whenever it comes, will be an immediate translation into glory. “In your book were written… the days that were formed for me” (Ps. 139:16; Job 14:5).

A minister of the Word of God once said, “We are immortal till our life’s work is done.”  You can’t use that as an excuse for irresponsible behaviour – driving down the wrong side of the road at a high speed.  That is an abuse of the truth.

Satan tried that abuse when he suggested to Jesus that He should jump from the pinnacle of the temple, “Nothing bad will happen!” Jesus said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Use this truth when you struggle with fear. If you are afraid of this virus and its effects, say to yourself: “I am immortal until my life’s work is done here on earth”.

Q: What then is our only comfort in life and in death?

A: That you are not your own, but you belong – spirit soul and body, in life and in death, to Jesus Christ…

He watches over me! Not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father that is in heaven!

What does this then look like in practice? To honour Christ the Lord means that you hold all that you have in this life with an open hand.

 It means that you will use the word ‘my’ tentatively:

‘My’ house, means the house that God has entrusted to me for a time.

‘My’ children, means the loved ones who belong to God and are lent to me for a time.

‘My’ work means the service that God has called me to do for a time.

‘My’ money is the resource that God has trusted me to steward on his behalf.

‘My’ friends are the people God has given as companions for a few laps of the journey.

‘My’ life means the opportunity that God has given me to serve at his pleasure in this world until he calls me home.

We can only say this when we are not the one who is on the throne. Thank God for that!  Otherwise, we’d be riddled with fear. We will then deal much better with loss (whether that be the loss of a position, loss of a loved one, loss of property, whatever loss). If we believe and remember that what we have belongs to God, and it is on loan to us for a time!

H. Spurgeon says, “A man does not cry when he has to return a tool which he has borrowed… He knew that he borrowed it, he never called it his own, and he hands it back thankful that he had it for so long.”

The last time Moses spoke to God’s people before he died, he said, “Behold I set before you two ways of living.  One way is a blessing and the other is a curse.  There is a way that will lead to life, and a way that will lead to death.”

I feel a bit like that today. We live at a time where the great movement of our culture is to crown self as lord. Going down that path you will always be haunted with fear. There can be no greater curse than the curse of that path. No greater misery than the misery that lies at the end of it.

I want to say with Moses, “Choose the path that leads to life, the path on which you crown Jesus the Son of God and the Lord and Saviour of your life.” Friends, when you can say, “For me to live is Christ,” then you will also be able to say, “to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

Here is the testimony: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord” (Rom. 14:8).

When Christ is the sovereign Lord over your life, over your death, and over your eternity, what in all the world would you have to fear?

Let us pray:

Father make us a people of hope in this culture of fear because we are learning in these challenging times what it is to get of the throne of self.

Help us in this so that our Christ be the Lord of our lives.

You have us in your hands, let us see that and put all our trust in you.

Take us through this as we honour you with our hearts.

In Name of Jesus,

Amen

A great privilege to serve communion this morning.

Making a faith confession together of our dependency on God.

Fear creates a mountain, faith moves it!

Fear accumulates, faith diminishes!

Fear destroys but faith builds up!

Let us in community make a faith statement of victory.

I Corinthians 11; 24 -26 says:

Verse 24: “and when Jesus had given thanks, He broke it and said: ‘take, eat; for this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me”.

Let us eat together.

Verse 25: “in the same manner He also took the cup, saying; ‘this cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me”.

Let us drink together.

The Blessed Series

Sermon by Dr Ben Hooman (22 March 2020)

1 Peter 5:5b-11

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”

1 Peter 5:5-6

We looked last Sunday at: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

We are called to recognize our poverty before God. You may have much to offer your family, your business, your friends or your work team, but standing before God, you are in an entirely different position.

What do you have that you did not receive?

When Jesus first called Peter, Peter said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). It was in the presence of Jesus he felt his unworthiness. That’s what happens when Christ comes near to you.

We saw how this poverty of spirit brings a surprising blessing: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Jesus is speaking about a taste of heaven now.

Isaiah 57:15 “…I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.

We saw this taste of heaven is God living with the person who has a humble spirit. Heaven is in the humble before the humble are in heaven.

The question then is: How can we cultivate this humility?

In this series, we noted that there is a progression in the Beatitudes. We used the analogy of the Beatitudes being like a series of rings.

They are—humility, mourning, meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity, and peace.

The rings at the end are often the ones we want to get to. We really want to have purity of heart, but how do we get rid of the things that messes us up?

We really want to get to forgiveness, but how do we get beyond the wounds in our hearts? We really want to have peace, and to bring peace to others, but how do we deal with the turmoil that is inside?

The questions we then ask is:

How do I get to being merciful? How do I get to purity? How do I get to peace? These things often seem to be out of our reach.

That is why we explained previously that the Beatitudes are like a series of rings, and you move to the next ring with the momentum you gained from the last.

Momentum is the key in reaching the next ring. The momentum of swinging on the first ring will take you to the second, and the momentum on your swing on the second ring will take you to the third, and so forth.

That is why it’s so important for us to grasp this first ring. To be poor in spirit is the gateway blessing. This is where you get started. There is no other place to begin.

The way to purity, and peace and forgiving others begins with becoming poor in spirit, and using the momentum you gain from this to move forward to the next ring.

Today we are asking: How do I get on that first ring?

How do I get started? We’re going to look at:

1. The curse of pride;

2. The blessing of humility; and

3. How to become a person who is poor in spirit.

1. The Curse of Pride

“God opposes the proud …”  1 Peter 5:5

If you’ve always thought that God is for everybody, you have to get rid of that idea, if you want to believe the Bible.

Remember Peter is writing to Christians. He is telling us that pride blocks the blessing of God!

If I give way to pride, God will stand against me. I will come under His discipline. God stands in the way of the proud. He opposes them, “but He gives grace to the humble.”

There will be a very different experience in life depending on whether you are pursuing pride or you pursuing humility.

If you want God to be for you, not against you, 1 Peter 5:6 says: “humble yourselves… under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you”. The fight against pride is a lifelong battle.

Humility is the first grace given to a Christian. This is where the Christian journey begins. But pride is the last enemy to be subdued. Pride was the first sin to enter the world and it will be the last to be expelled from it.

The battle against pride is a hard one because…

Humility goes against the grain of a self-affirming culture

In the current culture of affirmation, it sometimes seems that parents, teachers, counsellors, politicians and media all conspire to tell us how great we are, and apart from a miracle of God’s grace, we’ll believe them.

The teaching of Jesus is directly opposed to the creed of this world that says: Believe in yourself.

Jesus does not say, “Believe in yourself.” He says, “Believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14). The man who says: “I believe in myself” has put himself in the place of God.

Those far from God will often feel that he or she has the ability to face whatever comes: “I can handle this… I can do it”, and even say with pride “I can do all things in Christ”.

The person who walks with God says something different. He looks at the challenge and says, “Because the Lord is at my right hand I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).

Where is your confidence?

Wisdom calls you to trust God and doubt yourself, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). But the world says: “Go with your heart, with your feelings, with your emotions, do it your way” and you then doubt God.” Satan has been working this ever since the Garden of Eden.

Trusting yourself and doubting God is rampant in our culture, so much so that we cannot recognize the lie of the devil!

Humility goes against the trajectory of religion

Religion works on the principle that you must live a life that is pleasing to God so that you may win His favour. This idea is fundamental to all religions across the world.

But Jesus says precisely the opposite: The blessing of God belongs to those who know they cannot win God’s favour: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

It is the Gospel that turns religion on its head. Every religion in the world says, “Live a life that pleases God so that you may win His favour.” The Gospel says, “Receive God’s favour, through Christ crucified, so you may begin and pursue a life in the Spirit that’s pleasing to God.”

The blessing of God itself makes humility harder

The poor in spirit experience the blessing of God.

But the more you and I experience God’s blessing, the more difficult it is for us to stay in the place where you are poor in spirit.

It is very hard for a great achiever to feel that he or she has nothing to offer God. The more successful you are, the easier it is to believe that you really are something, and the harder it is to humble yourself before God.

If your children believe while others are in rebellion; if your marriage prospers while your friend’s is falling apart; if your business succeeds while others fail; if your ministry grows when others are in decline—it’s hard to avoid the proudful feeling you must have done something right!

Success of any sort, tends to make us think that we’re something. Thank God for the work of the Holy Spirit, who has come to convince of sin and righteousness and judgment.

• The Blessing of Humility

“God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5

We saw that the poor in spirit are blessed because God lives with them. God dwells with those who have a lowly and contrite heart. That is the first and greatest blessing, but the presence of God brings a whole cluster of other blessings.

Growing in humility helps us to bear affliction

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you.” 1 Peter 4:12

Earlier in the letter, 1 Peter 1:7 speaks about how genuineness of faith will be tested like gold when it’s refined in the fire. Trouble is on the horizon and Peter writes to prepare believers for it, so that they will stay standing.

How are they to do that? “Humble yourselves under God’s almighty hand. That’s how you’re to get through this,” Peter says. “God gives grace to the humble.”

Growing in humility will also nourish your love for others

“Love does not boast. It is not arrogant. Love does not insist on its own way.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Pride is always self-seeking. It is easily provoked.

Let as look at an example:

Pride will pour cold water on the fires of love in your marriage. If you begin to think more highly of yourself, your marriage will be in trouble. But humility will fan the embers of love into a flame.

Maybe you at a place this morning wondering: Do I really love him?  Do I really love her? And the world says to you, “You have to think about yourself.” And you may have friends who will say the same thing to you.

Christ says precisely the opposite: “You should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus… He humbled Himself” (Philippians 2:4-5, 8). The path to restoring a marriage that is burning low begins here, grow in humility!

Growing in humility will also strengthen you to overcome temptation.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride comes before a fall.” 

The Bible also tells us that the person who “thinks he stands should be careful lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

It is the person who knows the weakness of his or her own flesh, who will watch and who will pray, and who will, therefore, not fall into temptation.

Pride is the gateway sin that opens the door to other sins, but humility is the gateway blessing that opens the door to other blessings.

Growing in humility will also release you from the tyranny of self 

Some of us may be feeling that we are a long way from pride. We may be thinking that for this reason: “My problem isn’t that I love myself. My problem is that I hate myself!”

For many this is a great battle, a particular battle for some of the youth today. You experience it in an intense way. You get up in the morning and a voice in your head says, “I hate myself.” Perhaps sometimes you even think about harming yourself.

The focus is on self. Self is dominating. Self is at the centre. When you hate yourself, you are simply battling with an inverted form of pride.

Self is dominating your mind! Satan doesn’t really care whether self is exalting you or condemning you, the problem is the same. Self is on the throne, and self is always a tyrant!

The great blessing of humility is that it releases from the tyranny of self.

• How to Cultivate Humility

The word “cultivate,” reminds us that this is a lifelong pursuit.

Cultivation is never a one-time deal. We are always working at it.

Let us look at some brief encouragements:

Measure yourself by the law of God

Use the Bible as a searchlight in your soul. Measure yourself by 1 Corinthians 13:

 “Love does not insist on its own way.” Where am I insisting on my own way, Lord?  “Love is not irritable or resentful.” Help me Lord to see where I’ve been irritable. Where am I resentful?

Open the Bible and ask God to show you yourself. Measure yourself by: The Great Commission, measure yourself by the Beatitudes, measure yourself by the Sermon on the Mount, measure yourself by anything and everything that God calls you to in His Word!

When we do this, we will become poor in spirit. You will find yourself saying: “Lord, I fall so far short of your calling on me, I need to find in You what I do not have in myself.”

This is what the Christian life looks like every day!

Use the law of God as a mentor to bring you to Christ. The commands of God, rightly understood, always cultivate humility in a Christian believer. They’ll bring you to the place of saying “I don’t have what it takes.”

The good news is that Jesus, seeing your need of Him, says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

That’s where the law brings you. The end of the law is the beginning of the Gospel! The law will bring you to a place called “poor in spirit,” and Christ will meet you there!

Model yourself on Jesus

My first thought about humility is that I have every reason to be humble because my sins are many. At my best, I fall far short of what God calls me to be and to do.

But there is more to humility than to be put in our place on account of our sins. Jesus was humble and He was without sin. The humility of Jesus did not arise from sin. It is a characteristic of Jesus Christ, the One we to follow, the One to imitate.

Listen to Him. Learn from Him. Model yourself on the Son of God. He says to you: Matthew 11:20, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart”.

Listen to what Jesus says:

I can do nothing on my own… John 5:30

I have not come to do my own will… John 6:38

I do not seek my own glory… John 8:50

If these are the words of Christ, how much more should they be mine?

Motivate yourself through the grace of God

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble…

Humble yourselves therefore… 1 Peter 5:5-6

Humility is a grace that brings more grace. People who are poor in spirit, who know their need and their poverty before God, have a blessing that will lead to even greater blessing!

Get on this first ring today!

God has gifts of grace for the humble. Blessings of purity and peace lie ahead of you. Healing that will make you want to show mercy will be within your reach.

These things can be yours! But you have to begin here: Get on the first ring. Humble yourself.

Come to Jesus Christ today and tell Him you don’t have what it takes to live this life. Tell Him that you can’t change without Him. Ask Him to give you what you do not have. Trust Him. Look to Him.

Believe in Him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to your cross I cling!

Is that you?

Look to Jesus for what we do not have, and know that in Him we have all that we need.

18 March 2020

Dear Church family,

Official statement on the actions in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic – The Christian Campus Church

As previously stated, it is no understatement to say that we as a church faces a great challenge in the recent outbreak of this virus. The virus has made an impact on our world from travel, freedom of movement, corporate gatherings and doing everyday life. The church is not immune to these impacts.

We therefor as leadership of The Christian Campus Church decided to postpone all physical gatherings until government has cancelled the restrictions as such. The health and wellbeing of all congregants is of utmost importance to us and we will continue to comply with all government requirements as a church.

We are however not without hope as a congregation and will stand firm in these times on God’s promises and declare the supremacy of the blood of Jesus Christ against all forms of evil.

This threat also creates an opportunity for us. Although we have suspended the Sunday gatherings and Life Group meetings, we in the process to establish other added forms of communicating with you regularly. An online church will be established whereby we will have services online on various platforms, life group contact through different media available to us and all other ways of communication as the need arises.

We will communicate this to you as we progress in setting up all that is needed to stay in contact and serve you as a congregation. There will be an increase in activities on our upgraded Website, in Facebook activities, and live stream services, social media presence, etc.

The threat of this pandemic also creates an opportunity to reach a lost world for Christ for people will be more open to the gospel of Christ than ever before. We are determined to speak the Truth of the Gospel at this time and to serve in Jesus’ Name by all means and opportunities available. We are reaching out to our community in all allowable ways and will provide various types of assistance.

We will also communicate with and through the Life Group leaders and most activities will be coordinated by them. If you not in a life group currently, we will soon gather all necessary contact information (cell numbers, physical addresses, digital platform availability, etc.) and communicate to you our communication platforms once established.

Our prayer is that your heart will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit and that you will use this dark season as an opportunity to be the light that the world so desperately needs,

Grace and peace be with you.

Pastors Ben and Bernadine Hooman.