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Worship – Jacques & Priscilla Wolmarans

Sunday 13 June 2021

Ps Ben Hooman

Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11 as we continue our series on Faith. We are looking today at the story of Joseph. Again, the scene that God has chosen to teach us what faith looks like, comes right at the end of Joseph’s life.

“By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones” (Hebrews 11:22)

Of all the scenes from Joseph’s life, this seems a surprising selection. When you think about the story of Joseph you might expect to read, “By faith, Joseph resisted temptation.” “By faith, Joseph interpreted dreams.” “By faith, Joseph forgave his brothers.” “By faith, Joseph saved his family by providing food in the famine.” But these are all passed over, and the Holy Spirit has recorded the arrangements Joseph made for his burial as his greatest act of faith.

Last week we saw that where there is faith, there will be worship. Today we’re going to see that where there is faith, there will be hope. The Scripture we are looking at today speaks to a question that weighs heavily on all of our minds. What does the future hold for God’s people?

The Bible makes it clear that life for God’s people goes through different seasons. You see this in the story of Joseph. There were years that he had to endure, there were years that he could enjoy.

The same will be true of us. There are times to be enjoyed, and there are times to be endured. When we see the world around us changing, we all wonder: “What does the future hold for our children and for our children’s children? Will they know times to be enjoyed or times to be endured?”

This was the question facing Joseph at the end of his life. The family God had chosen to bless were living in Egypt. What did the future hold for them there?

Hebrews tells us that when Joseph faced this question, he exercised faith, and because he exercised faith, he had hope. Faith is like a tree bursting with fruit, and hope is the fruit of faith that Hebrews draws out from the life of Joseph. Where there is faith, there will be hope.

Please turn to Genesis 50, where we find a beautiful picture of a family finally at peace.

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” So, they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many peopleshould be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.” (Genesis 50:15-21)

After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers feared that he might pay them back for the evil they had done to him. But Joseph had forgiven them, and he wept because they did not believe him. He said “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”. Then he said, “So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them”.

At the end of Joseph’s life everything was picture perfect for the people of God. The brothers enjoyed a time of blessing greater than they had ever know before. The chosen family was united at last. Everything they needed was provided. And they had nothing to fear. The smile of the culture was on God’s people. Joseph was loved in Egypt! His brothers could bask in the reflected glory that came with being his relatives. Genesis tells us that when Jacob died, “the Egyptians wept for him seventy days” (Gen 50:3). That gives you some sense of the affection in which this family was held.

You look at the blessings that the chosen family enjoyed at the end of the book of Genesis and you feel, “if only it could be like this forever.” There will be times in your life, when you say, “I wish I could hold onto this forever.” And of-course you never can. Life moves on. Things change. And not always for the better.

So, as we come to the end of the book of Genesis, the obvious question is: What does the future hold for the family of God? There are three answers to that question. Firstly, there is a time of growth.

A time of growth

“Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:6,7)

God multiplied his people. When Jacob arrived in Egypt, the entire family were just 70 people. When they left Egypt, they were around 2 million. God’s people flourished in Egypt. The multiplied. They prospered.

This is true in our own lives and in the life of the church. There will be times of growth when we must seize every opportunity we can. Jesus said,

“We must work…while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4)

First, there was a time of growth. But God had already revealed to Abraham that the future would hold a time of trial. Secondly there is a time of trail.

A time of trial

“Then the LORD said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13)

This must have been hard for Joseph to imagine. How could it be that in Egypt, where God’s people are loved and respected, they would become slaves? How could they be afflicted in the land where they had been so richly blessed? And how could this last for four hundred years?

The world is constantly changing, and Joseph believed what God had revealed to Abraham. “Your offspring will be sojourners…and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.” and so it was. We read in the book of Exodus,

“Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us…” Therefore, they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens” (Exodus 1:8-9,11)

The great oppression began. The culture no longer smiled on God’s people. But here’s what I want you to notice: God continued to bless His people during this time of trial.

“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.” (Exodus 1:12)

The God who blessed them in the time of growth, continued to bless them in the time of trial. God is always with His people. What does the future hold for God’s people? There will be times of growth and there will be times of trial. How could God’s great purpose to bring His people into the Promised Land be fulfilled if they were oppressed in Egypt? Thirdly there is a time of deliverance.

A time of deliverance

God had said to Abraham,

“But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions” (Genesis 15:14)

The world around us is always changing, but faith looks beyond the changing moods of the culture. Like Abraham, we are looking for a heavenly city (Hebrews 11:10,16). God’s people know that however much we are blessed in this life, His plan for us cannot be fulfilled here.

Here’s the future: There will be times of growth. There will be times of trial. And there will a time of deliverance. And this is what Joseph spoke about at the end of His life. Hebrews tells us that,

“By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites…” (Hebrews 11:22)

These last words of Joseph are recorded for us in Genesis 50. They are full of hope: Hope while we live, and hope when we die.

Hope while we live

“And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Genesis 50:24)

Joseph was speaking here as a prophet, so what he said was the Word of God. Through all the years of oppression in Egypt, this was the hope of God’s people: God will visit you. God will bring you up out of this land. God will come down from heaven and He will deliver you.

That is exactly what happened. God visited His people. He revealed Himself to Moses. Then Moses and Aaron told the people what God had said, “I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:8).

God brought them up out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. When God’s people came into the Promised Land, they enjoyed times of growth. They endured times of trial. And they looked to God for a time of deliverance.

The prophets spoke of a day when God would come down and deliver His people. Through all the years of the Old Testament, this was the hope of God’s people: God will visit you. And that is exactly what happened. God has visited us in Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh and lived among us.

Luke records a day when Jesus came to the town of Nain. A funeral procession was leaving the city. A widow was grieving the loss of her only son, and Jesus had compassion on her. He stopped the procession and said, “Young man, I say to you arise.” Scripture records that he sat up and began to speak. The people were terrified and said, “Surely God has visited His people” (Luke 7:16).

Here we are today: More than 2000 years have passed since Jesus died and rose, and ascended into heaven. Through these long years, the church has enjoyed times of growth and endured times of trial. Through all these years, this has been her hope: God will visit you.

“The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Our exodus is coming. God will visit you. This is what He has done in Christ. This is what He will do in Christ. And because we believe we have hope, Hope while we live, and Hope when we die.

Hope when we die

“By faith Joseph, at the end of his life…gave directions concerning his bones” (Hebrews 11:22)

Why would this be so important to Joseph? Why would it make any difference where he was buried? It is clear from the book of Hebrews that the patriarchs believed in the resurrection. Abraham considered that God was able even to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). God could raise the body of Joseph from a plot of ground in Egypt as easily as from a plot of ground in Canaan or anywhere else. But Genesis tells us that Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying,

“God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here” (Genesis 50:25)

There must be something important about this, because Jacob also asked that his body be taken to the Promised Land: Jacob said to Joseph,

“Do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place.” He answered, “I will do as you have said.” And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed” (Genesis 47:29-31)

This really mattered to Jacob. And it mattered to Joseph. He made his brothers swear an oath that when God’s people went to the land of Canaan, they would take the bones of Joseph with them. And Hebrews regards this as the great act of Joseph’s faith.

Why? Remember that in the Old Testament, God teaches us in pictures. The Old Testament is God’s book of visual aids. God uses things that we can see to help us grasp the invisible. God uses what we can touch to help us grasp the spiritual. God uses things in time to help us grasp the eternal.

God had chosen a land that He would bless, and the blessed land on earth points us to the blessed life of heaven. Abraham knew that the Promised Land was pointing forward to something greater than could

ever be found in this world. That is why it says that he was looking for a heavenly country (Hebrews 11:16). “The city whose designer and builder are God” (Hebrews 11:10).

So, when Joseph gave directions concerning his bones, he was saying: “When I die, I will enter into all that God has promised. And as a sign of that, I want you to take my bones to the Promised Land.”

So, the bones of Joseph were kept and carried as a sign of hope. It is not just the living who will enter into what God has promised. Those who have died in faith will enter into what God has promised too.

Joseph was laid to rest in a coffin marked “destined for the Promised Land.” Joseph’s coffin was a sign of hope. Joseph had said, “you shall carry up my bones from here.” So, during these long years of oppression in Egypt, God’s people could look at the coffin, destined for the promised land and say, “He’s going there, and that means that one day we’re going there too.”

We too have a sign of hope. It is not coffin filled with bones. It is an empty tomb! Jesus Christ is risen. He is ascended. He is already in the Promised Land, and because He is there, we will be too.

The directions given by Jacob and Joseph point to two wonderful and complementary truths that are the hope of all believers when we die. When Jacob died, his body was taken straight to the promised land.

“So, Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household” (Genesis 50:78).

This must have been the longest funeral procession ever. And they carried the body of Jacob all the way from Egypt to Canaan. When Jacob died, his body was taken straight to the Promised Land.

The story of Jacob reminds us that believers who die enter immediately into God’s promised rest. Death separates the soul from the body. And for the believer, to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The thief on the cross said to Jesus, “Remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” But Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Get this settled in your mind: The souls of those who die in faith are taken immediately into the conscious enjoyment of the presence of God.

The body of your believing loved one is laid to rest here, ashes to ashes, dust to dust but the soul of your believing loved one is at home with the Lord. That is pictured by the fact that when Jacob died, he was taken straight to the Promised Land.

With Joseph it was very different: The body of Joseph was taken to Canaan a long time after he died. God’s people were in Egypt 400 years. And the body of Joseph remained there with them, until the exodus. Then we are told that, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying,

 “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here” (Exodus 13:19)

The body of Joseph was not taken to the Promised Land until all of God’s people arrived there. The story of Joseph reminds us that believers will enter into the full joy of all that God has promised together.

What happens to a believer after death is like a two-stage journey. At the moment of death, Christ will bring your soul immediately, consciously and joyfully into His presence in heaven. To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord. And that will be better by far than any joy you can know in this life.

But that is not the end of the story. Even then, the best is yet to be. When Christ returns, those who are with Him will be clothed with resurrected bodies, adapted for everlasting life in the new heaven and earth where we will enjoy the presence of God forever.

Believers who have died are on a stopover. They are with Christ. But like us, they are waiting and looking for the day when Christ will return in glory. Then we will enter into the full joy of all that God has promised together.

Conclusion

So, here’s what we learn from the story of Joseph. Faith hopes in God. If we have faith, we will have hope.Hope while we live, and Hope when we die, and where there is Faith there will be Hope.

Where there is faith there will be hope

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)

“We have been born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3)

“Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15)

Paul prays that the eyes of your hearts will be enlightened, “that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:18).

Scripture calls us to live self-controlled and godly lives as we wait for “our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). “So, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).

Where there is faith there will be hope.

If we would have hope, we must exercise faith

When a storm hit the disciples in their boat on the lake, Jesus asked them, “Where is your faith?” I don’t know about you, but I feel the challenge of that question. It is so easy to live in fear. When the world changes, God’s people must exercise faith. And we need to hear these words of Scripture: “God will visit you.”

What does the future hold for God’s people? There will be times of growth to enjoy. There will be times of trial to endure. But most of all, a time of deliverance will come. The future is glorious for all who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sunday 06 June 2021

Worship – Jacques Wolmarans

Sermon – Ps Ben Hooman

Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11 as we continue our Faith Life Series. We’re learning from this chapter what a life of faith looks like. We’ve seen that faith: Listens to God, Walks with God, Fears God, Obeys God, Receives from God, and Submits to God. Today we come to a seventh feature of faith: Faith Worships God. And we see this in the story of Jacob.

“By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.” (Hebrews 11:21)

The key word here is worship. Jacob ended his days in worship, leaning over his staff. It’s a beautiful picture. Here is a man so unsteady on his feet that he needs a stick to hold him up. He can’t raise his hands in worship. If he did, he would fall over, but holding onto his stick with both hands, he bows his head in worship before God.

This scene is certainly not the first scene that comes to mind when you think of Jacob. There are other stories from Jacob’s life that seem more likely to be remembered. By faith Jacob wrestled with God. He said “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26)

We expect this story to be here in Hebrews. But that amazing story gets passed over, and what is recorded here is the relatively obscure occasion at the end of Jacob’s life when he blessed the sons of Joseph and worshipped, leaning on his staff.

What makes this even more surprising is that this is not a story about the continuation of the line into which our Lord Jesus Christ would be born. We saw last week that when Isaac blessed Jacob, he was naming the heir to the promise. He was announcing the line into which the promised Saviour would be born.

This is not the case here. Hebrews tells us about Jacob by faith blessing the sons of Joseph. And Jesus was not born into the line of Joseph. Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah. So, this story is not about identifying the line into which the Saviour would be born. The focus here is on an old man who worshipped and the book of Hebrews tells us that he blessed his grandchildren as he worshipped by faith.

Worship is one of the fruits of faith. Here is the heart of what we are learning from Scripture today: Where there is faith, there will be worship.

Let us call on the story of Jacob. When Jacob fled from home in fear of what Esau might do to him, he went to work for a man called Laban, who had two daughters. Jacob fell in love with one of them, whose name was Rachel, and he served Laban for seven years to win her hand in marriage. But when the day of the wedding came, Laban played a cruel trick on Jacob. The bride behind the veil was not Rachel, but her sister Leah.

Jacob had been deceived in a way that was a mirror image of how he had deceived his father. All through Jacob’s life, God taught Jacob to hate his sin by allowing him to feel its painful effects in his own life.

The Bible makes it clear that God often deals with us in a way that reflects the way we deal with others.

“With the merciful You show Yourself merciful; with the blameless man You show Yourself blameless; with the purified You show Yourself pure; and with the crooked You make Yourself seem tortuous” (Psalm 18:25, 26)

You see this very clearly in the life of Jacob. The deceiver was deceived. Jacob got a taste of his own medicine. And that is how he came to hate his own sin.

You see this same principle in the teaching of Jesus in the sermon on the mount:

“With the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:2)

“So, whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12)

There is a very great principle here: God brought Jacob to repentance by repaying him in his own coin. What Jacob did to Isaac, Laban did to him. Jacob’s own sin rebounded on him until he hated deception as much as he used to love it at one time.

Jacob worked for Laban another seven years after the deception, and then Laban gave him the hand of Rachel in marriage. Needless to say, this was not a happy family. Leah was blessed with children one after another: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun.

Then, finally, Rachel conceived, and gave birth to Joseph. Jacob had a special love for Joseph because he was Rachel’s firstborn. And Jacob showed this special love by giving Joseph a coat of many colours.

It’s not surprising that the brothers resented Joseph. And their resentment became worse when he told them about his dream that one day, they would all bow down to him. This was what God had revealed, but the brothers didn’t like it. And from that day on, Joseph’s brothers hated him.

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to visit his brothers who were pasturing their sheep. The brothers were determined to get rid of him. They put him in a pit, and then they sold him to traders who took him to Egypt. But the brothers kept Joseph’s multicoloured coat. They dipped it in the blood of an animal, and then they brought it to Jacob,

“They took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colours and brought it to their father and said, ‘This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not” (Genesis 37:31,32)

Jacob had been deceived by Laban. Now there is something much worse. He was deceived by his own sons, and this was the most painful deception of his life. Jacob looked at the coat, covered in blood, and,

“He identified it and said, ‘This is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.’ Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. He covered himself in sackcloth and he mourned. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, ‘No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning’” (Genesis 37:33-35)

Jacob said, “I’m going to go to the grave in misery. I’m going to live the rest of my life in mourning. There’s not joy for me now. No future for me. Nothing for me to look forward to”. Jacob was devastated. Losing Joseph, he felt he had nothing left to live for.

Meanwhile, Joseph was very much alive in Egypt. God blessed him, and he rose to become the most powerful person in the land, second only to Pharoah.

Some years later, there was a widespread and devastating famine. God had revealed that famine would come in a dream given to Pharaoh. After Joseph interpreted the dream, Pharoah put him in charge of preparing for the famine by storing up grain in years of plenty so that there would be enough to feed the people in the years of famine.

So, when there was no food in Canaan, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt. They had no idea that the man in charge of the storehouses was the brother they had sold as a slave and when Joseph revealed himself, they were terrified.

But Joseph forgave them for what they had done and told them to bring their father Jacob to Egypt so that Joseph could see him again. The brothers returned to Jacob and told their father that Joseph was alive in Egypt, and that God has raised him to a position of power and authority in the land.

Can you imagine, after years of inconsolable sorrow over the loss of his dearly loved son, Jacob now hears that his son is alive.

“So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, ‘Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt’. And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them”. (Genesis 45:25,26)

When the brothers told the truth to Jacob, “his heart became numb, for he did not believe them”. How could this possibly be? Joseph had been torn to pieces by a wild animal. Jacob had seen the blood on the coat.

So now the brothers had to confess that they had deceived their father. And Jacob realized that he had lived in misery for years because he had believed a lie.

Joseph sent wagons to carry his father to Egypt and Jacob said,

“And Israel said, ‘It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die” (Genesis 45:28)

There is great sadness in these words. “Joseph is alive, but it is too late for me now. My life is over and nothing can bring back the years I have lost. I will go and see Joseph, but after that I am done”.

When he arrived in Egypt, the reunion was hardly the celebration that you might expect. When Joseph came to meet his father, we read that,

“He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive” (Genesis 46:29,30)

Really father? Is that all you have to say? What about, “Son it is so good to be with you at last!” “Son, let’s treasure every day that we have together.” No! Nothing like that but just a rather miserable old man who says, “now let me die!”

But God had something better in store for Jacob than dying on arrival,

“Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So, the days of Jacob, the years of his life, was 147 years.” (Genesis 47:28)

And these years brought a remarkable change in Jacob. We know this because Jacob gave two descriptions of his life. One, when he arrived in Egypt. The other, seventeen years later, when he worshipped leaning on his staff. Only two accounts given and there is a great difference in these accounts. There was a great change that took place in Jacob’s life. The first account he gives of his life when he arrived in Egypt,

“And Jacob said to Pharoah, ‘The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning” (Genesis 47:9)

When Jacob arrived in Egypt, he was full of regret. Pharaoh asks, “How old are you?” “130 years, but that’s not much! Compared with my father and grandfather, my years are few. I don’t amount to much beside them. And if I was to pick one word to describe my years, the word would be ‘evil’. Looking back, I wish I had chosen a different path. I wish I had done more with my life. It all seems to have passed so quickly. Pharoah, you ask me about my years. I’d say they were ‘few’ and ‘evil.”

There’s not a lot of faith there. There certainly isn’t any worship. But that’s not the end of Jacob’s story. And if you find yourself today in a place of regret, it need not be the end of your story either.

Jacob changed during his last years in Egypt. The faith that seems almost to have died in him, revived. And when faith revived, Hebrews tells us that Jacob worshipped. Why? Because where there is faith, there will be worship.

God gave Jacob seventeen years in Egypt, and at the end of that time, Jacob gave a very different account of his life,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on…” (Genesis 48:15,16)

Do you see the contrast? Here is a man who arrived in Egypt full of regret: “My years have been few and evil”. But seventeen years later, he looks back on the same life and says, “I now see that God has been my shepherd all my life. He has redeemed me from all evil. Evil has not had the last word in my life”. And he worships!

If your faith is burning low, this is a story for you. If you live with a lot of regret, if you look back on your life and say, “it has all gone so quickly and I wish I had made different choices,” this story is for you.

Jacob made a wonderful journey from regret to worship. And you can make Jacob’s journey too. The way that Jacob did it and the way that you can do it is by faith. Where there is faith, instead of regret, there’s going to be worship!

How did Jacob move from regret to worship? How did faith take Jacob to an altogether different view of his entire life? Two things that we see from this story today:

Faith worships because it receives God’s forgiveness

“By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff” (Hebrews 11:21)

I love this picture of Jacob leaning on his staff. An old man remembering, looking back, reflecting, leaning on his stick. His mind wandering through the various scenes of his extraordinary life.

When Jacob looked back on his life, he would remember how he had deceived his father. He would remember how he had been deceived by Laban and by his own sons. How could he ever forget these things? His entire life had been shaped by the mirror image of his own sin.

Old sins have a way of catching up with you in later years. You are leaning on your stick, or sitting in your chair, or lying in your bed, and you say, “Why did I do that? What a fool I was. What was I thinking about?” as your years gone by you find yourself in regret as you look at all the past events and sins of your own life.

But Hebrews tells us that at the end of his life, Jacob worshipped! There’s only one way that a man whose life has been filled with regret can worship, and that is that he knows he really is forgiven.

Jacob bows his head in worship because he knows that God does not hold his sins against him. God has forgiven him. God has cleansed him. God has restored him. And looking back, he sees that through all the painful years of his life, he sees that through it all, God’s love has never let him go.

Jacob’s journey from regret to worship can also be yours. Listen to this promise of God, and to its condition for God says,

 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)

Notice there’s something for us to do: If we confess our sins…! It is not enough to say, “God forgives, so all is well.” We must confess. We must draw near to God in repentance.

The freedom of knowing that we are forgiven comes when we confess and repent. Guilt is lifted and cleansing comes when we draw near to God in repentance. Without that, we continue to live in regret. And nothing inhibits worship more than a conscience that has not yet been cleansed!

Perhaps you know what this is like. You come to worship and you think about your own sins. You look back on what you have done. You think about what might have been and you feel miserable and feel regret. You don’t feel like worshipping at all.

Robert Bruce says very helpfully, “When there is no repentance, our sins are remembered.”  That’s how it was for Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son. He had committed a particularly vile sin. And at the end of Jacob’s life, it was still remembered.

“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Unstable as water, you shall not have pre-eminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it…” (Genesis 49:3-4)

That was years ago. Why would Jacob bring it up at the end of his life? The answer is that Jacob was speaking as a prophet. The Spirit of God brought this to Jacob’s mind. God was saying, “Reuben, your sin is still before the Lord: You need to repent!”

Brothers, sisters, we cannot be cleansed from guilt and shame simply by moving on. “If we confess our sins…” That means there’s something there for us to do.

So, don’t wallow in misery when you come to worship. Do what God calls you to do! Draw near to Him. Confess. Repent. Do what needs to be done with regard to others when confession to others needs to be made.

But now listen to this marvellous promise:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)

This promise is so good, it is hard to take in. That’s where faith comes in. Faith believes what God has revealed, and trusts what God has promised.

And Jacob was able to worship at the end of his life because faith receives God’s forgiveness.

Forgiveness can be yours by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when by faith you know that you are forgiven, here is what will happen, you will worship! It changes the entire view of your whole life!

Faith worships because it receives God’s forgiveness and secondly,

Faith worships because it believes God’s promise

“By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff” (Hebrews 11:21)

Joseph’s sons were crown princes in Egypt! They had it made! Then Jacob their grandfather arrived in Egypt as a refugee. He didn’t own anything. So how could Jacob bless these boys? Well, Jacob had something more valuable than all the treasures of Egypt. He had the promise of God. The promise of life in a land that God would give.

“After this, Joseph was told, ‘Behold your father was ill’. So, he took with him his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to see the old man before he died” (Genesis 48:1)

Jacob said to Joseph,

“And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are” (Genesis 48:5)

At the end of his life, Jacob adopted the sons of Joseph as his own. And that meant that Ephraim and Manasseh became heads of tribes that were named after them. Each of Jacob’s sons became the head of a tribe. The sons of Reuben were Reubenites. The sons of Simeon were Simeonites. The sons of Levi were Levites. But the sons of Joseph were not Josephites. Ephraim and Manasseh became the heads of their own tribes as if they were both Jacob’s sons, with a direct share in the promise of God.

Generations later, when God’s people entered the Promised Land, it was divided into twelve regions, one for each of the twelve tribes. And if you look at a map of how the land was divided, there are two surprises:

• No land was given to the sons of Levi

This was because the special calling of the Levites was to serve the other tribes by leading God’s people in worship, and they were supported in this works by the other tribes.

• Joseph, the firstborn of Rachel received a double portion

Jacob said to Joseph, “Ephraim and Manasseh are mine.” So instead of giving one portion of land to all the descendants of Joseph, land was given to the children of Ephraim and land was given to the children of Manasseh, as if they were Jacob’s own sons.

When Jacob adopted Joseph’s sons, he made them direct sharers in the promise of God. “Boys, you have been born to great wealth. But hear this from an old and dying man. You may have full and rich lives here in Egypt, but this is not where you belong. You belong to another land. A land you have never seen. You will prosper in Egypt, but here’s what really matters. You belong to the people of God. You are heirs of God’s promise. Your destiny is in another land.”

Jacob gave these boys a direct share in the promise of God. And that is exactly what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, one body together with the 12 tribes of Jacob and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

We live our lives in this world, as Ephraim and Manasseh lived their lives in Egypt, but God has given us through Jesus Christ “an inheritance that can never spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4)

And faith worships because it believes God’s promise!

Jacob arrived in Egypt full of regret. He ended his days in worship, leaning on his staff. That journey from regret to worship is one that you can make too.

Jesus said that the Father is seeking people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. And you can become such a worshipper by faith: Faith receives God’s forgiveness. Faith believes God’s promise. And where there is faith, there will be worship.

MARKS OF TRUE REPENTANCE (PART 1)

Dr Ben Hooman

Today we come to a very important questions: How do you know if you are on the path of repentance? 

• How do you know if you have really repented? 
• What are the marks of being on the path to a transformed life?  
• How could you recognize or discern true repentance in another person?

30 May 2021

Ps Ben Hooman

Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11. We are looking today at the extraordinary story of how the blessing of God came to a weak father, a strong mother, and a very troubled son. We’re looking today at Isaac, the son given to Abraham and Sarah in fulfilment of the promise of God. I am so glad that Isaac is included among the models of faith. Here’s why: Isaac lived an unremarkable life. When you put him alongside Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, he seems insignificant. What great thing did Isaac ever do?

Here is a man who is overshadowed by his famous father (Abraham), his notorious son (Jacob), and his extraordinarily gifted grandson (Joseph). Imagine having Abraham as your father and Sarah as your mother! Who could ever live up to that?

Perhaps you know what this is like. You have a multi-talented wife or husband. Or unusually successful colleagues or friends. Maybe you tire of being introduced as someone’s father or husband, or mother or wife or son or daughter or neighbour or friend.

Isaac was completely overshadowed by the people around him. Of 50 chapters in the book of Genesis, 12 are devoted to Abraham (chapters 12-23), 10 are devoted to Jacob (28-35, 48, 49), and 11 are devoted to Joseph (37, 39-47, 50). Only two chapters are devoted to Isaac (Genesis 26 and 27).

There’s very little that’s memorable about him. What great events took place in the life of Isaac? The first thing we think about is what happened on Mount Moriah where Isaac was laid on the altar and his life was spared because God provided a substitute to die in his place. That story is recorded here in Hebrews 11. But it is recorded as a story about the faith of Abraham, not Isaac.

“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” (Hebrews 11:17,18)

In Genesis 24, we have the story of the search for a wife for Isaac. The extraordinary thing about that story is that Isaac doesn’t feature in it at all! It is another Abraham story: Abraham sent out his servant to find a wife for Isaac. What was Isaac doing?

Here we have a quiet man who lived an unremarkable life. What’s recorded of him in Genesis is that he dug wells in various places, and then had disputes with the neighbours over who had the rights to the water!

But God’s blessing was on this unremarkable man. And Hebrews includes him in the models and examples of faith.

“By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.” (Hebrews 11:20)

Isaac’s outstanding act of faith came right at the end of his life. He invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. It is never too late to exercise faith.

Why does Isaac’s blessing of his sons this matter? God had said to Abraham, “I will bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2,3).

Blessing will come to the whole world through Abraham. But this promise would not be fulfilled through Abraham personally. It would be fulfilled through his offspring. That is why the birth of Isaac was such an important event. God has said, “In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).

This theme is taken up in the New Testament where we read,

“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring’, who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).

Somewhere in Abraham’s line, there would be a descendent who would bring blessing to the world. And Galatians tells us that this descendent is Jesus Christ. This is why the Old Testament story focuses on the line of Abraham. God had promised that His blessing would come to the world through a Person born into this line.

In each new generation, the question was, who would continue this line? When Abraham died, the promise of blessing through his offspring was carried forward by Isaac. But Isaac had two sons: Esau and Jacob. Which of them would carry the promise forward? The greatest responsibility given to Isaac in his uneventful life, was to name and bless the heir to the promise.

Hebrews records this as the most significant event of his life, and it tells us that he gave the blessing by faith.

When we pray that God will bless someone we love, we are asking that God will bring good gifts into their lives. But when Isaac pronounced the blessing at the end of his life, he was speaking as a prophet. He was announcing the line into which the One who would bring blessing to the world would come.

We see this most clearly in Genesis 28, where Isaac says to Jacob,

“May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you” (Genesis 28:4)

Hebrews records that Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. God gives good gifts to those who despise Him as well as those who love Him. But the great blessing that was given to Jacob was that he was directly related to Jesus Christ. And it is through Christ that God’s promised blessing comes to the world.

The story of how the blessing was given is told in Genesis 27. Isaac would never have made it into faith’s hall of fame had it not been for the strength and resolve of his wife Rebekah. What a remarkable woman she was!

Rebekah had endured an unusually difficult pregnancy. Carrying twins is never easy, and Scripture tells us that the twins she carried “struggled together within her”. Jacob and his brother Esau were fighting before they were even born! God spoke to Rebekah during her pregnancy and revealed what He had planned,

“And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, ‘If it is thus, why is this happening to me?’ And the LORD said to her, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:21-23)

“When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. Afterwards his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob” (Genesis 25:24-26)

Rebekah knew the will of God: It was God’s revealed purpose that the promise given to Abraham, and carried forward by Isaac, would continue through Jacob. But when the time came for Isaac to pronounce this blessing on his son, Rebekah realized that her husband was about to make a big mistake. Isaac had a special affection for Esau – not least because Esau was a hunter and he used to cook venison for the old man. Clearly the best way to Isaac’s heart was through his stomach! Isaac said to Esau,

 “Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” (Genesis 27:3,4)

Rebekah heard what Isaac said, and she realized that her husband was about to act in direct opposition to the revealed will of God. God had said that the promised blessing would come through the line of Jacob, but Isaac was about to pronounce the promised blessing on Esau.

What was Rebekah to do? Rebekah came up with a cunning plan: She said to Jacob,

“I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.’ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you.” (Genesis 27:6-8)

Rebekah was not willing to let her husband contradict the will of God. Rebekah’s plan was simple: She would prepare a meal, cooked just as Isaac liked it. Jacob would impersonate Esau, and take the food to Isaac, whose eyes were so weak that he could barely see. Then, Isaac would impart the promised blessing to Jacob.

Jacob was far from convinced that the plan would work. Esau’s skin was hairy and Jacob’s skin was smooth. The old man may not be able to see, but if he reached out and touched Jacob’s skin, he would know that this was Jacob and not Esau.

Rebekah had already thought about that. First, she dressed Jacob is Esau’s clothes that had the smell of the field on them. Then she put the hairy skin of an animal on Jacob’s hands and on his neck. And when the food was prepared, she gave it to Jacob and sent him to receive the old man’s blessing.

“When Jacob went to see his father, he said, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me, now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” (Genesis 27:19)

 It was a downright lie. The old man seemed suspicious,

“Then Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Please come near, that I may feel you my son to know whether you are really my son Esau or not” (Genesis 27:21)

Jacob’s heart must have been pounding as the old man felt the animal skin on his neck and the back of his hands.

“So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” (Genesis 27:22)

Then Isaac said,

“Come near and kiss me, my son’. So, he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him.” (Genesis 27:26)

Jacob had hardly left when Esau returned with the food he had prepared. “Who are you?” Isaac asked. “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau” (verse 32). Scripture records,

“Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, ‘Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, he shall be blessed’. As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, ‘Bless me, even me also, O my father!” (Genesis 27:33,34)

That’s the story, and here’s the question: Hebrews 11 tells us, “By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau” (Hebrews 11:20)

How could Isaac possibly have invoked the blessing by faith? Imparting the blessing to Jacob was not what he wanted or what he intended. Should it not say, “by mistake, Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau?” Where was the faith?

When Isaac realized what had happened, he submitted to the will of God. He accepted what had happened and made no attempt to change it. “I have blessed him, Yes, and he shall be blessed”.

In fact, as we saw earlier, Isaac repeated the blessing on Jacob. “May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you” (Genesis 28:4).

This is why Hebrews says that Isaac gave the blessing by faith. If Isaac had gone with what he felt, he would have revoked the blessing on Jacob. He would have said, “I was tricked!” I never intended to give the blessing to Jacob, so what I said to him is null and void.”

But Isaac didn’t do that. He realized that what he had spoken was the word of God. He saw that behind Rebekah’s cunning trick, God was working out His sovereign purpose.

Isaac’s faith lay in this: He submitted to God, even when God’s will is not what he wanted. “I have blessed him, Yes, and he shall be blessed” (Genesis 27:33).

Here’s what genuine faith looks like: Faith submits to God, even when His plan is not what you would have chosen. When your plans are frustrated, when God doesn’t give you what you wanted, faith submits to God.

Here’s the challenge that comes to us from this story: How will you respond when God’s plan is not what you would have chosen? What will you do when your prayer is not answered, when your hope is not fulfilled, when God leads you on a painful path?

There are two ways you can go: You can be like Isaac, or you can be like Esau. Here are two men: a father and a son: They both want the same thing. Isaac wants Esau to inherit the promise. Esau wants Isaac to give him the blessing. But when God’s plan is not what they would have chosen they respond in very different ways.

Esau walked away from God

Esau is described in the New Testament as a “godless” man (Hebrews 12:16 NIV). That is, a man who lived far from God. “If God doesn’t give me what I want, I don’t want anything more to do with Him.”

When God’s plan is not what you would have chosen, you will face this temptation – to live at a distance from God because He did not give you what you wanted.

Hebrews gives us this tragic bottom line about Esau, “he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:17). I find that one of the saddest statements in the Bible.

He lived at a distance from God, and he couldn’t repent. He could find no repentance because he had no faith. All he had was bitter regret that God did not give him what he wanted. So, he lived at a distance from God. “I don’t want anything to do with a God who withholds what I want.”

Isaac submitted to God

Isaac is described in the New Testament as a man of faith in Hebrews 11:20. He didn’t get what he wanted, but he submitted to God’s plan. Submitting to God’s plan when it is not what you would have chosen is the sure mark of genuine faith.

You see this in the story of Isaac. You see this in the story of Job, and you see this in the story of Jesus. Jesus came to a place where the Father’s plan was not what He would have chosen. The will of God for Jesus meant enduring great pain. It meant being taken from the friends He loved. It meant bearing the sins of the world. But in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said,

“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42)

That’s what faith does: Faith submits to God, even when His plan is not what you would have chosen.

What we learn from this story:

• God’s promise to bless always prevails

This story is not a moral example. This message is not “Be like Rebekah! Deceive your husband and get what you want!” The lesson is not “Be like Jacob! Tell lies to your father and you will be blessed.”

Read the rest of the story and you will see that lies and deception brought pain and sorrow. They always do. The family divided, for Jacob left home in fear of what Esau might do to him. Rebekah never saw her dearly loved son again.

So, don’t base your ethics on the story of Jacob and Rebekah. That’s not why this story is in the Bible. What we learn from this story is that God’s promise to bless always prevails.

This story is a story of hope for “far from perfect” families. It’s a story about a husband and wife who are not on the same page. It is a story of two brothers who just can’t seem to get along.

Where can God’s blessing be found in all of this? And yet God is present here working out His purpose though the pain of this troubled family.

This is a story of lies, deception, and betrayal with a kiss. But God’s promise to bless all the families of the earth moved forward through it all.

It points us forward to the New Testament, where we read about a disciple of Jesus who lied, and deceived, and betrayed his Master with a kiss. And God’s promise to bring blessing to the world moved forward through it all.

If you should endure the pain of lies and deception and betrayal with a kiss, your first thought may be that this is the end of hope. But God’s promise to bless always prevails.

• God’s promise to bless is a gift, not a right

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23, 24)

No one is entitled to the blessing of God. It is a gift, not a right. It cannot be earned or deserved.

By convention the blessing went to the eldest child. So, Esau thought it was his by right. But God does not work by convention.

“For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion” (Romans 9:15)

Esau wanted the blessing, and he went to work to get it. He hunted the game. He cooked the stew. “If I put in the effort; if I do the work, I will be rewarded with the blessing.” But despite all his effort, he didn’t get what he wanted.

You see the same spirit of entitlement in the elder brother in Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son. The elder brother worked hard. And because he worked hard, he felt entitled. He says to his father,

“but he answered his father ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, … (Luke 15:29)

Have you ever felt like that? Lord, I have lived a good life. I have worked hard. I have kept your commandments. Now why have you not given what I want?

Esau thought the blessing of God was his right. But no one has a right to the blessing of God. That includes Jacob! He certainly did not deserve to inherit the blessing. And we don’t deserve it either!

God’s blessing is a gift, not a right. If you would receive the blessing of God, you must give up claiming it as a right. You must humble yourself and receive it as a gift.

• God’s promise to bless is ours in Jesus Christ

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:28,29)

In the Old Testament the blessing of being heir to the promise only went to one person in each generation. But here we are told that the promised blessing will come to men and women of every generation and every social status. Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female; You are Abraham’s offspring! You are heirs of the promise of God, if you belong to Jesus Christ.

The arms of Jesus Christ are extended towards you today. The blessing of being adopted into God’s family. The blessing of being His forever can be yours through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Think about this: Jacob came to Isaac, dressed in Esau’s clothing and received a blessing that he did not deserve.

We come to the Father as sinners, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. And when we do come in this way, God’s blessing will be ours.

FINDING THE PATH (PART 2)

Dr Ben Hooman

Repentance and faith are so closely intertwined that one cannot exist without the other. 

You cannot belief without repenting and you cannot repent without believing. 

The two belong together like the sun’s heat and the sun’s light. They are distinct but cannot be separated. 

Sunday 23 May 2021

Ps Ben Hooman

Welcome to this special service as we do not celebrate Pentecost as Jews did, but rather on what happened on that day that changed the course of the world forever.

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

But what lead to this day? Jesus is risen and alive. Ten days before Pentecost He says to them to wait,

“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, …” (Acts 1:4)

Now what? What are they waiting for? It has been three years, now what? Three years, building up to something devastating. They have seen the most miraculous acts of Jesus, the greatest teachings, the best example of how to do life walking with Jesus. The disciples heard every word Jesus spoke, saw crowds following Jesus, His love poured out. Three years hearing the voice of man who is God. All this just for Him to die?

And yet Jesus told them three times that that is the whole point of the story. “It is not going to be the way you think. I am going to Jerusalem to be killed. And after three days I am walking out of the grave”

Three years of the most ongoing training by Jesus Himself and now He says to them, ‘Wait! You are not prepared for it; you not been fully trained yet”. It is not about the information, it is not about the knowledge, wait. There is going to be a gift! This gift is about to rock the world. This gift is why you are here today.

The Holy Spirit is not a ‘what’ but a ‘Who’

The disciples waiting in Jerusalem to experience what they never experienced before. It is not a what they waiting for, it is who they waiting for! It is a ‘Who’!

Three thousand people are going to come to Christ! Can you imagine the stir in the city? The Roman empire and the Jews wanted to get rid of an irritating movement that they saw as a cult. How do you get rid of it? You kill the leader. But this leader walked for forty days among His people after they killed Him!

Persecution breaks out. Christians break out and it spreads. It spreads to Antioch, to Cyprus, to Galatia, to Tarsus, and back to Jerusalem. The disciples sitting in synagogues telling the Jews what happened. Like a veldfire it spreads – this Jesus is for everyone, not for the Jews only.

Then to Asia, and Macedonia, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, and back to Jerusalem. They saying, “You don’t know what happened! Every place we tell them about Jesus a church started – churches all over! And people’s hearts are being changed, everywhere amazing things are happening! And all we do is sharing the truth with them, the gospel of Christ!

Well, that’s great! You go again. And they start another trip all the way into Rome and back. The Christian Jews say to Paul, “But that is our Jesus”. And Paul says to them, “you must see what’s happening in their homes, in their marriages their finances, in their hearts and in their minds. Communities are changed!”

What do you do once you know the stories of Jesus? What do you do once you study the life of Jesus? You know some of His teachings, some of His miracles. And He says, “I don’t want you to do anything, wait until you got this”. Hand trained and walked with Jesus for three years. But Jesus says to them that He got something”.

What is this something?

How it all began

• What happened was the Church

Jesus says, “This is My plan, My plan to reach you and to reach the world”. What happened was the church! From Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, to the ends of the earth. Christianity had nothing going for them. It had no money, their Leader killed, no technological tools for propaganda to spread the gospel of Christ. The disciples faced great obstacles but they still took the world by faith, 32 countries, 52 cities, 99 islands!

If you understand the book of Acts, you understand the whole New Testament. The book of Galatians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and so forth. All letters written back to the churches they left. The is the New Testament, all one story about Jesus. 1 and 2 Timothy – he was left in Ephesus – how to be a pastor. What about Titus on the island of Crete? Every book hang on the book of Acts.

Jesus says to the disciples to wait. “but wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts1:4). You know the facts, you know the story, but you not ready for anything. Wait! Even when you a follower of Jesus, you not ready. Wait for the gift.

“So, when they had come together, they asked Him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts1:6)

Jesus then gives them the real reason,

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

This is the verse of the entire book of Acts! How can we be famous? No! How can I put on display the Holy Spirit for financial gain? No! How can I chase after the Holy Spirit, now here then there, from meeting to another meeting as advertised on social media? No! “you are going to be My witnesses!”

And then Jesus ascended to be at the right hand of the Father. “Wait! You not ready yet. I am going to give you the Holy Spirit, the gift from the Father”.

How it all began? What happened was the church and,

• What happened was the Holy Spirit for us

It all was possible in and through the Holy Spirit. The acts (the book of Acts) of the Holy Spirit. And it happened for us to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to go and make disciples of all people,

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

That is why it happened for us on that Pentecost day. That is why we are here today, why we are together at church. It happened in cities, now it is happening here today. and no one is going to stop it! We are the next chapter of Acts.

In church today we have so many different assumptions of the Holy Spirit. For some it is an experience to chase after. It needs to be poured out on people so prophetic utterings break out, miracles happen. Some of these are true, but do we miss the very simple definition!

“… but wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, ‘you heard from Me;” (Acts 1:4)

To understand this, we need to know what Jesus spoke about. It is given to us in the book of John,

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)

The Holy Spirit is going to teach you how to walk in My truth. He is going to be with you, in fact, He is going to be in you. He is going to guide you, lead you, and teach you.

But why do we as followers of Jesus Christ get the Holy Spirit and the world not?

“Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and my Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Whoever does not love Me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father who sent Me. ‘These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:21-24)

Jesus says that by the Holy Spirit He and the Father will be in us. That must have confused the disciples, so Jesus draws them a picture of how it is like.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5)

Apart from the vine, the branch can do nothing. All you have to do is remain. You will go through life and will be pruned. But you abide, you remain and it makes you even healthier, to bear healthy fruit.

Jesus says to them, “Guys, you really get to understand how church is going to work. This is the garden, and I am the vine. My Father is the gardener, the One overseeing all. I am the vine and guess what you are? Good vine, no, you are the branches. What does a branch have to do to bear good fruit? Nothing, just remain in the vine. You stay in Me! Why? I just told you four times; if you obey Me, if you love Me, if you remain in My word, you will be in Me. If you don’t, you not in Me”.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:6-7)

Jesus says, ‘If you walk in Me, your heart and your desires going to be in the Spirit”. When you pray in the Spirit, the Spirit is going to produce what God wants for you. You not going to have these selfish prayers.

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:8-11)

When the Holy Spirit comes into your life, He is going to testify, He is going to reveal God to you, and you will be able to reveal God to others. That is the whole plan! That is what set up the disciples – 30 years, thousands of kilometres – that is what set the world on fire! And that we are still part of today.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me.” (John 15:26,27)

Jesus says that that is the big masterplan. Question then, what does the Holy Spirit do? Jesus says,

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7)

Jesus says to the disciples, “that’s why I am dying on the cross. That is why I am going away. When I am here physically, I am at one place at a time. Once I go away, My Spirit can be in all places, in all of you at all the times. That is far better than having Me here now on earth”.

“But if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine; therefore, I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:8-15)

Therefore, Jesus says to His disciples to wait. “Wait for the promise of the Father”. John chapters 14,15,16,17 – the last night of Jesus in the upper room, famous last words, four chapters and His entire story is: “I am in charge of this. Yes, I am going to die, yes, I will rise again.”

Why? “I am going to build our church! How am I going to do this? How am I going to build My church? Through the Holy Spirit. He is going to be in you, with you, and He is going to convict you of sin. Through the Holy Spirit you still going to see righteousness. He will help you to kill the power of sin in your life. He will transform you into My likeness”.

That was the plan of God by sending the Holy Spirit, explained in all four these chapters in the book of John. That is why Jesus said to His disciples to wait. They had to wait for the gift that the Father is giving, and that is the person of the Holy Spirit representing the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, God in us.

The Person of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not an “it’. The Holy Spirit is not some wearied force, not a movement we tap into. Not some strange thing we run after to get pieces of it. If you are running after such things, you are running from yourself. The Spirit of God is in every Christian that are born from above, being born again. The Holy Spirit is a Who and not a what!

This is what Jesus is teaching us. The Holy Spirit is given to help us. He will guide us in all truth. He will glorify Christ and what is Christ, He will declare to us.

We just have to remain, to abide in Christ. Remain in His word, remain in obedience. Jesus says, “I will remain in you. I will produce fruit in your life. I will change you and through you those around you. Apart from me you can do nothing!”

And the Holy Spirit is going to this new life work. With out the Spirit it is just striving, it is just toil. Without the Spirit it is just a big book of do and don’ts. without the Spirit we can never match up to it. We will only be covered with guilt and shame. With out the Spirit we can not do the Christian life.

We have to remain, remain, remain. Yes Ben, but you do not put enough emphasis on the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. All you talk about is obedience. Because every place Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit, He talks about obedience. And that is remaining in Christ. In that I will do all things. In that I will bear fruit. In that I will be changed.

Jesus says, “Remain in My words, if you love Me, you will obey Me, and We will make Our home with you!”

Did Jesus die on the cross to give me a better life? To make me a better person? No! My life wasn’t worth fixing. Jesus died to take this old life from me – to be dead to the old self, to be a new person in Christ.

Jesus took my life from me so that He can live His life in me. The cross forgave me so that the Spirit of God can live in Me. The cross change where I am going, heaven is my home. The empty tomb changes who I am. The cross change my destination, the risen Christ allows for me to be a new person, to be born again. The Holy Spirit now lives in me. It is not a big force or source in me, but the Spirit of Christ that brought the life of Christ in me.

The Holy Spirit changes me

The Holy Spirit convicts me of sin and produces righteousness in me. He brings the truth and testifies that Christ is real, and to share that with others. He produces the fruit of Him in me as I am obedient to God. He glorifies Christ in and through us.

You are God’s plan here and now. And he gives us the Holy Spirit to help us to be transformed more into Christ and to bring Christ to a lost world.

The Holy Spirit is not a it, but a person. Our choice is to walk in and with Him. I either walk with Him or I silence Him. What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? Remain, remain, remain! Jesus says: “If you love Me you will remain in Me, remain in My word, any one who loves Me will obey Me. If you don’t obey Me, you don’t love Me”.

The Holy Spirit is a gift of the Father, to work in and through you, to help you to bring Christ to and through you. The work of the Holy Spirit is to enhance the kingdom of God. He is not going to build your own kingdom.

The Holy Spirit is not an experience, but a whole new way of life. Experience comes from walking in and with the Spirit, and there are great experiences and manifestations. People chase after external experiences and atmospheres. The Holy Spirit is not into experiences for the experiences. No! The Holy Spirit says, “Walk with Me and you will experience what I want to do in and through you”.

Today many chases after the experience of the Holy Spirit without remaining in obedience with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is more a condition than an experience. More a relation and not a fixation. God express His work though His Church who you are. The Church is living. And the Church is moving, and we play a part in that.

Remain in Christ and the Spirit will work in and through you. The purpose why the Holy Spirit came, was to change the disciples and empower them to take Christ into the world.

When God gave the ten commandments, it was like a fire consuming the mountain and God empowered one man Moses to speak. At Pentecost God sent His Spirit like the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them! And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

On fire for Jesus! On fire for Jesus and not for self! Jesus, giving the church to take the gospel to many, so they can also receive Christ and live a life in Him. Off course other benefits came by the Person of the Holy Spirit in His power, signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Spirit. All to enhance the kingdom of God here and now so many can come to the fulness of Christ.

Remain, remain, remain! First obedience and love, and that, so that Christ can use you to build His kingdom. Therefore, you receive power like the disciples to turn the world to Christ.

The Holy Spirit is not a commodity to be put on display. He is real and if you belong to Christ, He is in you and you can do all things for Christ through Christ that is in you. Abide in Him as He abides in you by His Spirit!

Sunday 16 May 2021

Ps Ben Hooman

Please open your Bible at Hebrew’s 11, as we continue our Faith Life Series. Faith is like a living tree bursting with fruit and in this chapter, we see the fruit that faith brings in the life of a believer: Faith listens to God (Abel), Faith walks with God (Enoch), Faith fears God (Noah), Faith obeys God (Abraham). Today we come to something very wonderful: Faith receives from God. And we see this in the life of Sarah.

“By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11)

Notice the word “‘received.” That is the key word. By faith Sarah herself received. Faith receives from God. Faith brings into your possession what you did not have before.

Today, we are going to look at Sarah’s remarkable story. We are going to see how she received by faith from God, and then see how we can receive from the hand of God today. Then at the end we will ask this question: What do you need to receive from the hand of God today? The story begins with God giving a remarkable promise to Abraham,

“And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3).

Then God said to Abraham, “… your very own son shall be your heir” (Genesis 15:4). God then brought Abraham outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them,” Then He said to him, “So shalt your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5).

This was an extraordinary promise for two reasons: First, because Abraham and Sarah had no children and, secondly because Abraham was 75 years old at the time when he left Haran (Genesis 12:4), and Sarah was just a few years behind him. Years passed, and every month was marked by disappointment. God had given a promise, but its fulfilment was nowhere in view. Twenty-four years later, when Abraham was 99 years old, God appeared to him again,

“And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks (terebinth trees) of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him” (Genesis 18:1,2)

Two angels (19:1) and the LORD (18:13,17) appearing in a visible form. Sarah has gone into the tent to prepare a meal for these unexpected visitors and while she was working in the tent, we read The LORD said,

“I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son,” (Genesis 18:10)

Sarah heard what the Lord had said, and Scripture records,

“So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” (Genesis 18:12)

We then read that,

“The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?’ At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:13,14)

One year later, Sarah was laughing again, but in a very different way. Tears of joy streamed down her face as Isaac was born and God’s promise was fulfilled. That’s the story in the book of Genesis, and Hebrews gives us this God-breathed commentary:

 “By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past age, since she had considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11)

Faith receives power from God

“By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past age…” (Hebrews 11:11)

God gave Sarah power to conceive a child in her old age. The Bible places special emphasis on the fact that this miracle took place in Sarah. It was “Sarah herself” who received this power.

Later in Genesis we are told that after Sarah died, Abraham married again. He had six other children with his second wife, Keturah. (Genesis 25:1,2). So, though Abraham was old, he was not beyond becoming a father.

The miracle of Isaac’s conception took place because power came to Sarah, and that is why the spotlight is on Sarah’s faith in this verse. Sarah herself believed and by faith she received power from God.

• Sarah received power

By faith Sarah herself received power. Sarah received something that she did not have before. Power came to her. And this is how she was able to do what she could not otherwise have done.

God is able to give you the strength you need to meet the challenges that you face. This theme of receiving power runs right through the New Testament Scriptures. Remember Jesus commissioned eleven men to make disciples of all nations. That was clearly beyond them, but Jesus said,

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)

What does that mean? What did this look like in practice? Here are three examples or illustrations from the life of the apostle Paul:

• Sustaining energy

The apostle Paul was sustained in ministry by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.” (Colossians 1:28,29)

When you take on responsibility, there will be times when you wander, “How can I keep going? How am I going to be sustained?” Here is your answer: The energy of the Holy Spirit will work powerfully in you.

• Enduring pain

Paul tells us about a painful affliction that he endured for a long time. And here is what he found: Christ worked through Him most powerfully when this thorn in his flesh was at its worst,

“Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

 When you face pain, a trial that sucks the life out of you, you may wonder, how can Christ possibly use me when I have to carry the weight of this burden? Here’s your answer: It is in your weakness that Christ’s power will most clearly rest on you.

• Facing loneliness

There was a time when Paul was put on trial in a court of law for preaching the gospel. He was on his own. There were no other believers there to support him. But this was his testimony,

“But the LORD stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles may hear it. (2 Timothy 4:17)

When you find yourself alone, you will find yourself asking, “How can I get through this?” And here’s your answer: The Lord will stand with you and give you strength.

• Sarah received power by faith

“‘By faith Sarah received power…” (Hebrews 11:11)

God is able to give you the strength you need to meet the challenges you face, but you must receive this power by faith. Faith is the means by which we receive from the hand of God,

 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God … But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:5-7)

In order to receive you must ask, but when you ask, you must ask with faith. Without faith you will not receive. Jesus said,

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

When I read a verse like this, my first instinct is to want to try and qualify it. Here’s why: These words of Jesus have been horribly abused by preachers who promise universal health and prosperity and encourage their hearers to name what they want and claim it from God.

It is really important to interpret Scripture in the light of Scripture. God does not contradict Himself. He is not in confusion. So, we need to ask what else Scripture says that bears on this subject of asking and receiving. And we will come to that in just a moment.

But here’s the problem: If our first response to a verse of Scripture is to qualify it, we may miss the thing we most near to hear. For example, when the Bible says, “‘God so loved the world.” There are people who want immediately to say, “Yes, but we must remember that the world is also under the judgment of God.” That is true. But if you jump to the truth that the world is under the judgment of God, you miss this great truth that God really does love the whole world.

The first thing we must do with any verse of Scripture, is not to qualify it, but to hear it. So, if when you read a verse of Scripture, you find yourself saying, ‘Yes, but,”. Stop yourself right there and ask what you might be missing. Jesus said,

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24)

By faith Sarah received. What can we take from this today? How much more might we receive from the Lord if we ask more, and we believe more? The Bible tells us that we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2). That if we want to receive from the Lord we must ask with faith! (James 1:6). And that if we ask with faith we will receive! (Mark 11:24).

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

If we ask more and believe more, we will receive more. It is by faith that Sarah received power. And by faith, we too can receive from the gracious hand of God.

• There is peace that you could enjoy
• There is strength that you could receive
• There is comfort that you could feel
• There is grace that you could savour
• There are victories that could be yours

Imagine arriving in heaven and seeing a door with a sign that says, “Unsought Gifts.” You ask an angel., “What’s behind the door?” The angel leads you into a vast room piled high with boxes, stacked from floor to ceiling, row after row. Each box has someone’s name on the front. As you walk between the rows of boxes you come to one that has your name on it. You open the box and it is full. “What is this?” you ask. “These are the gifts that might have been yours on earth”, the angel says. “But because you did not ask, they remained up here”.

We clearly see this from the life of Sarah; Faith receives power from God and secondly,

Faith rests on the promise of God

“By faith Sarah received power… since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11)

There are two things here: we told by faith Sarah received power how did this happen? Since she considered him faithful who had promised. So she received power on account of the promise and then on account of the one who gave the promise. Firstly,

• Faith rests on the promise

“By faith Sarah received power…since she considered him faithful who had promised” {Hebrews11:11)

You may have met people who say, “With God all things are possible. Jesus says if you ask anything in His name, He will do it. So, what do you want? Name it and claim it! Nothing is impossible with God. The only limitation is your faith.”

But Sarah’s faith rested on God’s promise. God had promised a child to Sarah, but that promise is not given to every person. God has not promised that every woman will have a child. God has not promised that every sickness will be healed. So, it would be very cruel to say to a couple who long for a child, “Sarah believed and if you have enough faith, you can have children too!”

 Faith in the Bible is not wish-fulfilment. Faith is not a creative act by which we bring what we want into being. But faith is the means by which we received what God has promised to give.

Thomas Manton says, “‘Wherever we put forth faith we must have a promise, otherwise it is but fancy, not faith”. What he is saying is that faith rests on the promise of God. Faith is not trusting God to fulfil your dream. Faith is trusting God to fulfil His promise. Faith is tied to the promise.

How did Sarah come to believe this promise? She had not always believed it. The first time she heard it, she laughed. How was it that she came to believe? Well, we are told here,

• Faith rests on the promise of God

“By faith Sarah received power… since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11)

The strength of any promise depends entirely on the person who gives it. Someone says, “I give you my word”. How valuable is that? It all depends on the person. If the person is known to be a liar his or her word is not worth much, but if a person is known to be true, their word means a great deal.

God is always true to His word and Sarah believed God’s promise because she learned about God. That is how we come to belief the promises that God gives to us. We come to belief His promises as we learn more who He is.

When God appeared to Abraham and gave him the promise that Sarah would bear a son, Sarah was inside the tent, hidden from view. Genesis tells us that when God gave the promise, Sarah laughed “to herself” (Genesis 18:12). No sound was heard. No smirk was seen. But the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh?’ {Genesis 18:13). And Sarah realized, “the Person who made this promise knows everything about me, even my private unbelieving thoughts”.

Robert Bruce says, “It was not a mere man who was dealing with her… neither was it an angel, for angels cannot see into our innermost thoughts. Therefore, at once it dawned on her that this man speaking to her was the living God; it was at this point she knew that nothing was impossible for such a God!”

There is something very beautiful here. God knew that for twenty-four years Sarah found the promise hard to believe. He knew that years of disappointment have made her afraid of being disappointed again. So, what did God do? God appeared in a visible form to bring Sarah to faith! This appearance was not so much for Abraham than it was for Sarah. God bring this woman to faith.

That is a perfect picture of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The God who appeared to Sarah in the form of a man actually became a man in Christ Jesus. Why did He come into this world? He came so that we might know the Father. He came to lead us to faith. He came so that by faith, we might receive all that God has promised.

Faith receives power from God, Faith rests on the promise of God, and thirdly,

Faith advances the purpose of God

“Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:12)

“Therefore” refers backwards and it refers to Sarah. Think about what came from Sarah’s faith: “By faith Sarah received power to conceive”. Sarah’s faith led to the birth of Isaac. From Isaac came Jacob, from Jacob came Joseph and his brothers. From Sarah came the line of descent that God had promised to bless all. The line into which Jesus Christ was born. And Jesus Christ will gather a great company of redeemed people from every tribe and nation, who will glorify God and enjoy Him forever in a new creation that will be the home of righteousness. They will be as many as the stars of heaven. As many as the innumerable grains of sand on the seashore.

Faith advances the purpose of God. He moves His sovereign purpose forward by means of people who receive from His hand because they believe His promise. By faith Sarah received.

Conclusion

Here’s what we are taking to heart from the word of God today: If we ask more, and believe more, we will receive more.

• I need to ask more from God
• I need to give greater weight to His promises in my life
• I need to receive what I do not have from His hand

If we ask more and believe more! So here is the question,

What then do you need to receive from the hand of God today?

• Are you facing an overwhelming challenge? Here is a promise for you: Christ says,

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

God has what you need today. Ask with faith and receive.

• Do you need renewed strength? Here is a promise for you:

“Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles,” (Isaiah 40:31)

There is strength that God can give you today: Ask with faith and receive.

• Do you need material provision? Here is a promise for you,

“My God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory.” (Philippians 4:19)

God is able to provide for you today: Ask with faith and receive.

• Do you need to find peace? Here is a promise for you,

“You keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You” (Isaiah 26:3)

There is a peace that God can give you today: Ask with faith and receive.

• Do you need to find hope? Here is a promise for you,

“After you have suffered a little while, the God of grace, who has coiled you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10)

God has a future for you: Ask with faith and receive.

• Do you need to receive forgiveness? Here is God’s promise to you in Jesus Christ:

“Your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

Jesus Christ stands ready to forgive you today: Ask with faith and receive.

• Do you reed to be made right with God? Here is God’s promise for you:

“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)

You can be right with God today: Ask with faith and receive!

FINDING THE PATH

Dr Ben Hooman

There is a warning that is very important for us today. Jesus is warning us about the danger of an empty profession. In other words, saying yes to God is of no value if you do not do what He says.

Give of Yourself (Part 2)

Dr Ben Hooman

There is only one life that I can now offer to Christ and that is actually the life I am living right now. No life is perfect. No life is what we want it to be this side of heaven. This life with all its challenges we are facing, all the difficulties we have on our plate today, this is the life we are able to offer to Christ right now. Real life with all its troubles, that is what Christ is laying claim to. This is what I have to surrender and offer to Him. 

9 May 2021

Ps Ben Hooman

Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11, as we resume our Faith Life Series. We’ve seen that faith believes what God has revealed and trusts what God has promised. God teaches us in Hebrews 11 through a series of examples. Each one highlights an aspect of the faith to which we are called.

We saw from the story of Abel that faith listens to God. We saw from the story of Enoch that faith walks with God. We saw from the story of Noah that faith fears God.

Today we come to the story of Abraham, where we see that faith obeys God.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance” (Hebrews 11:8)

We are told here that God “called” Abraham. Abraham obeyed when he was called. You would think that a man who was called by God must have been especially holy. Surely this man who obeyed God’s call and received God’s promise must have been seeking God, loving God desiring God. But precisely the opposite is the case. Joshua says to God’s people,

“Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods” (Joshua 24:2).

Abraham worshipped idols! He served gods of his own making. He did not know the God who made Him. But one day, God appeared to Abraham as he had appeared to Adam and Eve in the Garden:

“The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran” (Acts 7:2)

Can you imagine this! Here’s Abraham, with these little statues perched on a rock. He is saying his prayers to the idols, asking them to help him, and suddenly the God of glory appears to him! God who made the heavens and the earth appeared! God took visible form and stepped into this man’s life uninvited.

God appeared to Abraham, laying claim to his life, his love, and his loyalty. Abraham’s life would never be the same again. Now notice how Abraham responded when God called him

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to gout to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance” (Hebrews 11:8)

We need to see three things from the story of Abraham today:

– The obedience that faith brings

– The patience that faith demands

– The future that faith anticipates

The obedience that faith brings

“By faith Abraham obeyed …” (Hebrews 11:8)

These words describe the relationship between faith and obedience. They tell us how obedience grows in the life of a believer, “By faith Abraham obeyed.”

How did Abraham obey? How can we grow in obedience to God today? Abraham believed what God had revealed, and trusted what God had promised. That is how he obeyed. His obedience sprang from his faith.

Grasping how faith relates to obedience is really important. Let us look at three pictures of this relationship: Two of them are wrong, and should be avoided at all costs. One is right and should be pursued whatever the cost. The three are the mixing bowl, the buffet lunch, and the apple tree.

• The mixing bowl: Confusing faith and obedience

You are in the kitchen, and you are getting ready to bake a cake for someone’s birthday. You get the flour, the butter, the sugar and the eggs. And you mix them till you have a smooth cake batter. And of course, when you have the batter, you no longer have the flour, the butter, the sugar, and the eggs. They have dissolved into each other. They are all mixed up!

Some people get faith and obedience mixed up. They can’t tell them apart. You’ve probably heard someone say, “When I look at my life, I know that it is not what it should be.” And then I wonder… “Am I really a true Christian?”

The person who says this is looking at their obedience. They see that it is far from complete. And they say “well if my obedience is not complete, maybe I am not a Christian at all.”

That is to confuse faith and obedience: It is to mix them up so that you can no longer distinguish the one from the other.

If you have a mixing bowl problem, I want you to notice that there is a clear distinction between faith and obedience, “By faith Abraham obeyed” (vs. 8).

Faith is not obedience, and obedience is not faith. The distinction is really important: The Bible says that we are justified by faith. And if you get faith mixed up with obedience, you will end up thinking that you are justified by obedience, and since your obedience is never complete, you will never enjoy real and lasting peace.

God saves us by giving us what we do not have in ourselves. Faith looks to Christ and receives all that is in Him. So, beware of the mixing bowl: Don’t confuse faith and obedience.

There is a testimony from the nineteenth century of a woman by the name of Mrs. Drake. She was a believer, but she endured a prolonged time of great darkness, doubting that she belonged to the Lord. After some years, God brought her out of this, and looking back on her experience, this is what she said: “The fountain of all my misery hath been that I sought that in the law which I should have found in the gospel; and for that in myself, which was only to be found in Christ.”

This lady was trying to find peace by obeying the law, when the only way to find peace is by believing the Gospel. She was looking to find righteousness in herself, when true righteousness can only be found in Jesus Christ. And she says, “this was the fountain of all my misery.”

If you confuse faith with obedience, you will never be happy. You will be looking for righteousness and peace in the wrong places. Faith finds in peace in the gospel, that obedience to the law can never produce. Faith finds a righteousness in Christ, that we can never find in ourselves.

So, beware of the mixing bowl: Don’t confuse faith and obedience.

• The buffet lunch: Separating faith and obedience

The buffet lunch is the opposite of the mixing bowl. When you go to a buffet lunch, the food is presented in separate compartments. It’s all laid out for choice, so you load your plate with what you like, and you pass on what is not to your taste.

It would be easy to think of faith and obedience like a buffet lunch. Here’s faith: I’d like some of that. It gives me the taste of forgiveness and heaven. Here’s obedience: That might be harder to swallow. I’ll pass on that for now.

Friends, faith and obedience are not like choices in a buffet lunch. Paul speaks about the “obedience of faith…” (Romans 1:5). The person who thinks that to be a Christian is to add belief in Jesus to an unchanged life needs to hear this challenge from James:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14)

James makes it clear that where there is faith, obedience will follow. So, beware of the buffet lunch. Don’t separate faith and obedience.

• The apple tree: Rightly relating faith and obedience

Faith and obedience are distinct: we mustn’t mix them up and confuse them. Faith is faith, and obedience is obedience. But faith and obedience belong together. They must not be separated.

So, forget the mixing bowl and the buffet lunch, and think about an apple tree. There’s a clear distinction between the apple and the tree. You eat the apples. You don’t eat the tree. The apples spring from the tree. They are formed by the tree.

If you want to have apples, you must plant an apple tree. And if you want to grow in obedience, plant the tree of faith.

As faith puts down its roots into the Word of God, so, gradually and increasingly the good fruit of obedience will grow. Faith is a living tree bursting with fruit. This is what we are learning from Hebrews 11. The opening verse describes the tree. It tells us what faith is:

“The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

That’s what faith is, and the rest of the chapter is all about what faith does. Faith listens to God. Faith walks with God. Faith fears God. Faith obeys God.

Grow in faith and you will grow in obedience. The more you believe what God has revealed and believe what God has promised, the more you will grow in obedience. Faith produces obedience. Obedience arises from faith. “By faith Abraham obeyed”:

The patience that faith demands

“By faith Abraham obeyed…And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8)

When God called Abraham to a life of faith, He did not tell him where that would lead. Abraham “went out, not knowing where he was going.” God did not give him a map to show where he was going. God did not give him a brochure to tell him what it would be like when he got there.

• Faith demands patience because of what we don’t yet know

What will a life of faith and obedience to Jesus mean for you? What will it involve? What will it cost? None of us knows.

Jesus says “Follow Me.” When you step out in faith and obedience, you don’t know where He will lead you. And that is the glory of faith, simply not to know!

You will sometimes find yourself asking “Why do I have to go through this?” What purpose does God have in leading me here? We ask “why?” And God is under no obligation to tell us. We walk by faith, not by sight: One day we will know fully, but now we know in part.

Faith demands patience because of what we don’t yet know.

• Faith demands patience because of what we don’t yet have

“By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob heirs with him of the same promise” (Hebrews 11:9)

Living in the land of promise sounds marvellous, but when Abraham arrived in the Promised Land, he found that it was already occupied. In Acts 7:5 we read,

“Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child” (Acts 7:5)

God’s people had to wait 500 years before God gave them the land. It was after Abraham, after Isaac, after Jacob, after Joseph and his brothers, after 400 years in Egypt, after the death of Moses that God gave the Promised Land to Abraham’s descendants.

The Promised Land was not given to Abraham. After years of living there, Abraham had to buy a small plot of ground from the Hittites to bury his wife Sarah when she died (Genesis 23:7). A burial plot was all he owned. Abraham spent his entire life “living in tents.”

He lived on a promise, trusting God that one day, the land would be given to his offspring. One day, God would fulfil His promise. One day God would give Abraham a child. One day God would give His descendants the land. But that day was “not yet.”

It was by faith that God led Abraham to the land. But when he got there, it was by faith that Abraham lived in the land. Here’s the question: Which is harder?

Philip Hughes says, “The situation into which he moved on his arrival in the land of promise was a more severe trial of his faith than was the call to leave home and kindred, and it was easier for him to live by faith as he journeyed toward a goal as yet unseen than to do so upon reaching this goal and finding that the fullness of all that he had been promised was “not yet.”

I expect that Abraham thought that life in the Promised Land would be a kind of heaven on earth. But when he got there, he found that Paradise was “not yet.”

This is a marvellous picture of the Christian life. Coming to faith in Christ is like Abraham setting out on his journey to the promised land. When you hear the call of God and, by faith you obey His command to repent, all the promises of God are yours. Forgiveness is yours, and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is yours. Everlasting life is yours. In Christ all the promises of God are yours.

But soon you discover that you are living with the “not yet.” Not yet are we free from sin’s presence or its power. Not yet are we free from sickness or loss. Not yet do we enjoy a life of perfect peace. Not yet is the church without stain or wrinkle. Not yet have the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and Christ. And so not yet do we live in a world of righteousness, justice and peace.

Faith demands patience because of what we do not yet know. Faith demands patience because of what we do not yet have. So, how do you find the patience that faith demands?

How did Abraham have the patience, the endurance, the strength to spend his entire life living in tents as a stranger in a foreign land? How can you find patience and endurance in the disappointments, frustrations and losses of life?

The future that faith anticipates

“For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10)

When Abraham got to the Promised Land, he realized, that God had more in store for him that he would ever experience in this world.

God had blessed Abraham with great success while he was still worshipping idols in Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 13:2). Genesis makes it clear that “Abraham was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold” (Gen 13:2). Then God gave him marvellous promises that led to his new journey of faith.

From that time on, his whole life was “looking forward.” Hebrews tells us that the city he was looking forward to was, “The city… whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

Notice that Abraham is not looking for a city, he is looking for the city whose designer and builder is God. Verse 16 tells us her was looking for a heavenly city.

If Abraham could come and observe our world today, I guess he would be astonished at the endless arguments that keep tearing people apart. Radically different visions of what life in our cities and in our country should be. I guess he might say, something like this: “You are all arguing about how to build your own cities. I was seeking the city whose designer and builder is God.”

The city Abraham was looking forward to is not created by human progress. He’s not thinking that we can shape a brave new world where all human dreams will be fulfilled, and all human desires will be satisfied. Only God can do that.

All of us have goals in life: things that we want to achieve. To reach a certain point in your career. To be married and to have a family. To have a certain amount of money that you think will give you financial security. To see some change in the world or some growth in the church.

Whatever it is, here’s what we learn from Abraham: When you get there, it won’t be what you thought.

Listen to these words of C S Lewis: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world”.

Conclusion

The obedience faith brings, the patience faith demands, the future faith anticipates.

Someone may be saying, “well this is an old story.” You are talking about something that happened 3000 years ago. You are telling us that God appeared to this man. That God called him, that God gave him great promises. That he lived in tents, and that he was looking for a city. What does that have to do with us living today in the city and suburbs of the West Rand?

• God has appeared to you

“The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people” (Titus 2:11)

God became a man in Christ Jesus. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God has made Himself known to you more clearly than He ever did to Abraham.

• God calls you

Jesus Christ the Son of God says, “follow Me.” He lays claim to your life, your love and your loyalty. He calls you as clearly as God called Abraham.

• God gives you great promises

If you will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, forgiveness will be yours, the power and presence of the Holy Spirit will be yours, everlasting life will be yours.

• You live your life in a tent

That’s how the Bible speaks about your body. It’s a fragile structure that one day will be taken down. Every time you get sick it is a reminder that you live in a tent and this world is not your home.

Thank God if you are in Christ you can say with Paul,

“We know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

God has prepared a city for you

Hebrews says of people who believe what God has revealed and trust what God has promised, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

“Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:16)

Jesus says, “So do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me. I go to prepare a place for you. And I will come again to take you to be with Myself so that where I am you may be also.”