Give of Yourself
Dr Ben Hooman
Today we focus on the positive dimension of repentance. Turning from as much as you know of your sin; that is negative, turning to give as much as you know of yourself; that is positive. It is important for us to recognise that repentance always involve the negative and the positive.
Always what we turn from to what we turn to! In other words, it is not that we just stop doing certain things. if that is the case, it is only half of repentance.
2 May 2021
Ps Marius Engelbrecht
Please open your Bibles at Hebrews 11. We continue in the series on faith. We are looking together at what it means to live by faith. God teaches us in Hebrews 11 through a series of examples. Each one highlights an aspect of the faith to which we are all called.
We saw from the story of Abel that faith listens to God. We saw from the faith of Enoch that faith walks with God. Today we will see from the story of Noah that faith fears God. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.
“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet seen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this He condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)
It seems that this verse speaks to a pressing question that faces us all in these difficult days. We are living at a time when believers are experiencing great sadness over revelations of the secret sins of some Christian leaders. Along with our sadness, we are also perplexed. How can these things be? Is there something missing? Have we lost something that we need to keep us on the right path?
I want to suggest, that one thing we may have lost is what we are told here. Noah lived with “reverent fear.” God “warned” Noah “concerning events as yet unseen.” “Noah, the world as you know it will soon pass away. It will be destroyed in a great and unprecedented flood. Noah believed the warning, and he feared.
This verse seems to be saying that faith can lead to fear. By faith Noah…in reverent fear constructed an ark. By faith he feared! Now someone may say – “Surely not!” Surely faith delivers us from fear. Isn’t the whole point of faith that we have peace and joy in believing?
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13)
That is true. But there’s more. There is a fear that faith relieves, and there is a fear that faith brings. God has given us warnings as well as promises, and the faith that rejoices when it hears God’s promises, trembles when it hears God’s warnings.
“All these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word.” (Isaiah 66:2)
By faith Noah, being warned by God…in reverent fear constructed an ark (Hebrews 11:7). I want us to see today that the fear faith brings is a gift from God, and that it is vital for the pursuit of a godly life.
Seven Observations about Godly Fear
Godly fear is a gift from God
“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, that they may not turn from Me” (Jeremiah 32:40)
God is speaking here about the new covenant, the relationship all of God’s people have with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Notice that in this covenant, God is committed to doing us good. He says that He will never turn away from us. But then He says something else, “I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn away from me”.
Godly fear is the fruit of forgiveness
“If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4)
You would think this verse would say, “with You there is forgiveness, that You may be loved”. After all, the one who is forgiven much, loves much. But this verse says something else. “With You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared!” There is a fear that forgiveness brings. When you know that the forgiveness for your sins came at the cost of all that Jesus endured on the cross, you will have an awe of the gift that will cause you to fear sinning again.
Forgiveness brings you into the fear of the Lord: How could I sin against love like this? The fear of the Lord is a fear that only those who are forgiven can know. It is a fear born of a loving relationship that was bought at an infinite cost.
Godly fear is the fruit of forgiveness. This is confirmed by the fact that the wicked have no fear of God. In Romans 3, Paul describes the state of those who are far from God. He speaks about their lies, their venom, their curses, their violence. But his bottom line is this: “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:18)
The fear that God puts into the hearts of His people is a fear born of love. It is birthed at the cross where we see what it took for us to be forgiven. “With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared”.
Godly fear will keep you from sinning
“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” (Exodus 20:20 NIV)
These words were spoken by Moses at Mount Sinai. When the presence of God came down, smoke covered the mountain. Fire erupted from the smoke and the whole of the mountain shook. Even Moses was trembling with fear. But Moses says to the people “Do not be afraid.”
The fear you know in the presence of God is a good thing. It is a gift, and as long as the fear of the Lord is with you, it will keep you from sinning. When you are tempted:
There are other motivations: Love for Christ, joy in Christ. But the power of temptation is so strong, we need every help we can get in our fight against it.
Fear is your friend in your fight against temptation. We need more than godly fear, but we can’t get away with less. The fear of the Lord acts as a brake on the impulse to sin that remains in the flesh of a Christian believer. A car without a brake is heading for disaster. And a believer without the fear of the Lord is heading for disaster too.
When Joseph was tempted, it was the fear of the Lord that protected him. “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 37:9). The fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning.
What happens if a person loses the fear of the Lord? In Psalm 36 we read that,
“Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart, there is no fear of God before his eyes.” (Psalm 36:1)
You hear about someone who commits a terrible sin, and you wonder, how could he or she possible do that? How could sin worm its way so deep into a person’s heart that he or she could do what they did? The answer, “There is no fear of God before his eyes.” The fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning.
“By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.” (Proverbs 16:6)
Godly fear will foster your pursuit of holiness
“So, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)
Notice why we make it our aim to please the Lord. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. One day I will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and I will give an account of the way I have lived my life. There’s no avoiding this. So, I cannot live to please myself. And I cannot live to please other people. I must make it my aim to please Him.
This is not our only motive for pleasing the Lord. We make it our aim to please Him because we love Him because we are thankful to Him because we find joy in him. These are higher motives for sure. But there will be times when your love burns low. There will be times when you struggle for joy, and God gives you this motive that we should not despise: “We make it our aim to please Him. For we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
Godly fear will sustain you in faithful service
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each on may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others…” (2 Corinthians 5:10-11)
Paul experienced tremendous opposition in his work as an apostle. How did he keep going? He knew that something of overwhelming consequence lies ahead of every person. “We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. So how can I sit back and do nothing? How can I remain silent when I know this to be true? Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others”.
Now, again, there are other motives: He says in verse 14, “For the love of Christ controls us”. We are sustained in ministry by the love of Christ, by joy in Christ, by our desire to see people receive the blessing of Christ. But godly fear will keep you faithful in serving the Lord.
Godly fear will keep you from abandoning the faith
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:26-31)
There was great pressure on the Hebrew believers to whom this letter was first written to abandon their faith in Jesus. This letter of Hebrews offers robust encouragement. You have faced great pressure on account of your faith, but if you abandon Jesus, you will have something much worse to face.
Jesus is the one and only sacrifice for sin. If you walk away from faith in Him, you have no other way of finding peace with God. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, So, don’t even think about abandoning your faith in Jesus.
Godly fear will deliver you from other fears
“Blessed is the man who fears the LORD…His heart is steady; he will not be afraid” (Psalms 112:1,8)
If you have this godly fear, your heart will be steady. Godly fear will put strength into you. It will enable you to face and overcome other fears.
Fear Him, you saints and you shall then have nothing else to fear. It seems to me that in losing the fear of God, we have been overwhelmed by an epidemic of other fears. Fears about health about money. Fears about the future. Fears about not measuring up. Fears about what other people think.
Lose the fear of God and other fears run rampant. Learn the fear of the Lord, and you will find strength to face your other fears.
Do you see what a marvellous gift this fear of the Lord is?
It is the gift of God.
It is the fruit of forgiveness.
It will keep you from sinning.
It will foster your pursuit of holiness.
It will sustain you in faithful service.
It will keep you from abandoning the faith.
It will deliver you from others fears.
The more we look at these Scriptures, the more we are convinced that in large measure, we have lost sight of something vital to the pursuit of an authentic Christian life.
“In reverent fear” Noah “constructed an ark.” So, what are we to do?
What are we to do?
“By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark …” (Hebrews 11:7)
Faith trusts God’s promises and it believes God’s warnings. Something within us wants to believe the promises and ignore the warnings. We want to believe that God will pardon sin but not punish it. We want to believe in heaven, but not so much in hell.
C.H. Spurgeon said, “Faith in God must treat all God’s Word alike; for the faith which accepts one word of God, and rejects another, is evidently not faith in God, but faith in our own judgement, faith in our own taste.”
Faith does not pick and choose what it likes in the Bible. Faith believes all that God has revealed. The warnings and the promises because we need both. When God warns, faith believes Him and fears. When God promises, faith trusts Him and rests. Listen to how Paul puts it in Romans,
“Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. (Romans 11:22)
Take note, consider, behold the kindness and severity of God. God is good to those who seek Him. And terrifying to those who defy Him. We are not to dwell on God’s kindness alone. We are not to dwell on God’s severity alone. We are to dwell on the kindness and severity of God together. Both have their place in forming a faithful Christian life. And when some part of the truth gets lost, some part of the life gets distorted.
If you find yourself considering a sinful path, you should be gripped by a fear that will keep you from it. Without it you would be in great danger.
So, how do you get this fear of the Lord? It is a fruit of faith. It is an effect of believing all that God has revealed. If you believe, you will fear the Lord. We saw from the life of Abel that faith listens to God, so start listening to what God says in the Scripture. We saw from the life of Enoch that faith walks with God so start seeking God and like Enoch, you will find Him.
As you listen to God through His word and seek after God in your heart you will find that this godly fear begins to grow in your soul, and the fear of the Lord will keep you from sinning. The more you listen to Him, the more closely you walk with Him, the stronger you will be in the face of temptation.
“Noah…constructed an ark for the saving of his household” (Hebrews 11:7)
What does this mean for us today? Does this mean that there is something we can do to save our loved ones? No. Christ and Christ alone can save. And here, Noah is a “type” or a representation of Jesus Christ.
Think about a portrait. A portrait is not a person, but it shows a person’s features and you can see a person in their portrait. Noah is not Jesus, but you can see Jesus in him.
Think about the story of Noah as a picture of Jesus and what He has accomplished:
Who He was
Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord He was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. He walked with God.
“But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:8,9)
Of Jesus, the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Jesus Christ is the Righteous One”. He was with the Father before the world began.
What He did
Noah… constructed an ark. Noah made the way of escape from the flood. He did this on his own. We do not read that anyone helped him. Singlehanded, he made the way in which people could be carried through the judgment of God and brought safely into a new world.
Jesus made the way in which we can be carried safely through the judgment of God.
Who He saved
Noah…constructed an ark for the saving of his household (Hebrews 11:7). The people who were saved were all related to Noah. He had three sons, and three daughters in law.
Matthew Henry says that it was well for these men that they were Noah’s sons, and it was well for these women that they married into Noah’s family.
God saved the family for Noah’s sake. They were saved because of who he was – a righteous man, and what He did in building an ark. Noah’s family entered into his ark. Noah did not get the family together and say “I want each of you to build your own ark. You can save yourself if you build an ark like mine. So, I’ll be the model. You do what I do. Then we can divide up the animals between us and each of us will be saved in our own little boat.” The world was not saved by a flotilla of boats! It was saved in one ark, built by one man. And those who were saved were all related to him.
Noah…constructed an ark for the saving of his household (Hebrews 11:7). He saved them by what he did. And all his family were saved because they were with him.
That gives us a wonderful picture of Jesus and what He has accomplished. Singlehanded, He has made atonement for our sins. He saves us by what He has accomplished, and he will save all who give themselves to Him.
Believe all that God has revealed, secondly; Rest in all that Christ has accomplished, and thirdly; Receive all that God has promised.
“By faith Noah, …became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:7)
An heir is someone who inherits. An heir receives something earned by another. It is freely given and freely received.
We are told that “by faith” (that is by believing what God has revealed, and trusting what God has promised), Noah became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
By faith, Abel was commended as righteous (vs. 4) By faith, Enoch was commended as having pleased God (vs. 5) By faith, Noah became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
How does faith make you an heir? Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ is the heir of all things.
“In these last days He has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom He also created the world.” (Hebrews 1:2)
Faith joins us to Jesus, and all who by faith are in Him will be carried through the judgment of God, and brought safely into a new and perfect world. Rest in all that Christ has accomplished. Receive all that God has promised. So that as one who knows that you are accepted, loved, forgiven and safe forever in Jesus Christ, you will live always in the fear of the Lord.
25 April 2021
Ps Ben Hooman
Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11 as we continue our Faith Life Series. This chapter begins by telling us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. The “hoped for” things we are sure of, are things God has promised. The “unseen things” we are convinced of, are things God has revealed. So, faith believes what God has revealed and trusts what God has promised.
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)
Now, what does it mean to live by faith? God teaches us by pointing to real-life examples of faith in action. Each of them highlights a distinct aspect of faith.
Last week we looked at Abel and saw from his story that faith listens to God. Abel was commended as righteous because of a sacrifice that God accepted. He offered a first-born lamb from the flock. A life was laid down for him.
Abel’s sacrifice of a lamb from the flock points forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Offering the lamb was a sign that Abel was trusting in God’s promise. And that promise was fulfilled when Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross. God gave his one and only Son as the sacrifice for our sins.
Abel knew that a life must be laid down because God had revealed it, back in the garden of Eden when He made garments of skins to clothe Adam and Eve. God had revealed the acceptable sacrifice and faith listens to what God has revealed.
Hebrews 11 paints a picture of what a life of faith looks like. Each story fills out the picture. Today we come to the story of Enoch, where we learn that faith walks with God.
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5)
The story of Enoch is told back in Genesis 5, where God records the generations from Adam to Noah, whose story we will look at next time.
Ten generations are recorded. We read here about Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah.
Two Questions:
If you look at the end of Luke 3, you will see that this is the line of descent into which Jesus Christ was born. What matters about them is the relationship they have with Jesus. And that of course is the thing that ultimately matters about us all.
Joseph Parker says, “The fifth chapter of Genesis is the beginning of that long series of characters in human history which are extremely uninteresting. Such people as Enosh, Mahalalel, and Jared are respectable plodding quiet men who said goodnight to one another regularly, remarked briefly upon the weather and died.”
The most important thing about you – what will matter about you forever is not how many people know your name, or not how many people follow you on social media. It is not a list of great things that you have accomplished. It is the relationship you have with Jesus.
Why are these names recorded? And secondly:
The lifespans of these generations are about ten times as long as our lives today. Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5). Seth lived 912 years (Genesis 5:8). Enosh lived 905 years (Genesis 5:11).
This was God’s provision for multiplying the human population in its earliest generations. After the time of Noah and the flood, human lifespans come down rapidly to what we are used to today.
These first generations lived for many years, but they had one thing in common:
All the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died (Genesis 5:5) All the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died (Genesis 5:8)
All the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died (Genesis 5:11)
This grim reality runs like a relentless drumbeat throughout the chapter. It is like the sound of a train on the tracks when it gets up to speed, “and he died, and he died, and he died.” This runs through the whole chapter with one exception. “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him”. (Genesis 5:24).
By any standards this is a remarkable story. Suddenly there is a break in the clouds. Light shines into the darkness, and we have reason to hope that the reign of death may not be forever. This story points us to the hope we have in Jesus who broke through the power of death and ascended into heaven.
Enoch walked with God
“When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. (Genesis 5:21,22)
“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24)
What does it mean to walk with God? To walk with God is to live in a constant, conscious enjoyment of the presence of God.
To walk with God involves:
God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden, but when they sinned, they hid from Him. You can’t walk with someone when you are hiding from them.
To walk with God means that you are at peace with Him. Any known sin in your life has been confessed and forgiven. You are at peace in the presence of God, because you have nothing to hide from Him.
Walking involves movement in a particular direction. If two people come to a crossroads and they want to take different paths, they cannot walk together. Amos asks,
Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” (Amos 3:3)
“Do two walk together, unless they agreed?” So, to walk with God means that we go where He is going. God is the great peace-maker: when we make peace we are walking with Him. God is merciful and just, so when we “do justly” and “love mercy,” then we walk humbly with our God. The prophet Micah says,
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you; but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
Walking is not sitting and walking is not sprinting. Walking involves slow, steady movement. To walk with God does not mean that you are perfect, but if you are walking you are making progress. Paul says,
“… I press on to make it my own, because Christ has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:12,13)
He speaks of straining forward toward what lies ahead. Walking isn’t easy when the wind is against you. Sometimes it involves leaning into the wind. But even if your progress is slow, you will still be moving forward.
Think about this: “Walking with God!” That is the greatest privilege possible. What else could compare with this? The Creator of heaven and earth; the sovereign Lord of the universe is your heavenly Father, and He is so intensely interested in you, so intimately involved in your life, that He would choose to walk with you!
If you want to get some place fast, get in a car. But if you want to savour a place and enjoy it, get out of the car and go for a walk. When you walk, you see things you don’t notice from a car. You hear, touch and smell things that you miss in the car.
Walking with God is the greatest pleasure. David says,
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fulness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures forever more.” (Psalm 16:11)
That means more than that heaven is a place of great happiness. Pleasures are found at God’s “right hand,” and those who walk with God taste these pleasures before they ever arrive in heaven.
The constant, conscious enjoyment of the presence of God that, by faith, is possible for you now is a taste, an anticipation of the joys that will be yours forever in heaven.
Walking with God involves peace, purpose, progress, privilege and pleasure. Here is something that everyone who loves the Lord will aspire.
Enoch walked with God, and Enoch walked with God in the light of the coming Judgement.
Enoch walked with God in the light of the coming Judgment
The early chapters of Genesis chart the growth of sin in the world and its devastating effects. Adam and Eve disobeyed a single command in the Garden. And just one generation later, their son Cain killed his brother. The world’s first baby became the world’s first murderer.
Ten generations are recorded here from Adam to Noah. And by the time of Noah we read, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11)
Enoch was the seventh of these 10 generations from Adam to Noah. If wickedness had filled the earth by the time of Noah, you can be sure that it was running rampant in the time of Enoch.
This is confirmed by a prophecy given by Enoch, that is quoted and preserved for us in the New Testament. Enoch was given a prophetic glimpse of the day when our Lord Jesus Christ will come with His holy angels. He will establish the truth, right every wrong, and bring the whole world to justice.
“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 14,15)
Notice the word ‘ungodly” or ungodliness occurs four times. Enoch was surrounded by people who had no place for God. People who spoke against God. People who acted in defiance toward God.
And in such a world, Enoch walked with God! It is possible to walk with God, in a world that defies Him. That’s what Enoch did. And that is our calling today.
Enoch lived with a profound awareness that judgment was coming. We know that for sure from his prophecy recorded in Jude, but there may also be a hint of this in the name Enoch chose for his son.
A.W. Pink says that the name Methuselah can mean, “When he is dead, it shall be sent.” He suggests that perhaps Enoch gave his son this unusual name, because God had revealed to him that when Methuselah died, the flood would come.
That is exactly what happened. The flood came in the 600th year of Noah’s life and if you compare that with the long years of Methuselah’s life, you will see that God sent the flood in the year that Methuselah died.
“When he is dead, it shall be sent.” ‘Enoch, the world as you know it will be washed away. And I will let you in on the secret of when it will happen: When your son dies, the judgment will come.”
Pink asks this question: What effect would such a revelation have on you? Every time the boy became sick you would think “This is it. The judgment of the world is about to come!”
Enoch knew that the judgment of God was coming soon. He knew that he had to be ready to meet with God. And in the light of that Enoch walked with God.
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27)
“So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, … (2 Corinthians5:9)
Therefore, at all times, we must cling to Christ as our Saviour. We must walk with God by faith so that we are ready to meet him by sight.
Enoch walked with God, Enoch walked with God In the light of the coming Judgment, and thirdly Enoch walked with God after he became a father.
Enoch walked with God after he became a father
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah …” (Genesis 5:21,22)
It seems that the responsibility of being a father caused Enoch to feel that he needed God in a way that he had not felt before.
Some of you may think that 65 sounds quite old, but at this point, Enoch was about a fifth of the way through his life. On a lifespan of 90 years that would be about 18 years old. So, here is a young man who suddenly finds himself in a place where he knows that he needs the help of God. He feels it in a way that he did not before.
Enoch got through his early years without too much trouble. He had always believed in God, always come to worship, always offered the sacrifices. But when Methuselah was born, Enoch knew that he needed help and he began to walk with God.
Maybe you know what this is like. Your world changes. God gives you a new assignment, and you know that you are out of your depth. Has it occurred to you that God may have done this so that you will seek Him and walk with Him in a way that you were not doing before?
You become a father, or a mother, and you find yourself saying, God has given me this wonderful gift and if I am to raise this child in this ungodly world, I need strength. I need wisdom. I need patience. I need a pure heart. And only God can give me what I need.
Enoch walked with God, Enoch walked with God In the light of the coming Judgment, Enoch walked with God after he became a father, and Enoch walked with God until God took him home.
“Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 days. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:23,24)
Genesis 5 is a chapter of numbers and as every accountant knows, the numbers tell a story. And I want to make two observations from them:
If you add the ages at which each of these patriarchs became a father, you will find that from Adam to the birth of Enoch was 622 years (130 + 105 + 90 + 70 + 65 + 162 = 662 years).
We are told in verse 5 that Adam lived for 930 years. So, Adam was still living when Enoch was born. In fact, Adam was still living when Enoch’s son Methuselah was born and when Enoch’s grandson Lamech was born!
Nine generations were all living at the same time! Adam lived to see his great, great, great, great, great, great, grandchildren. That is a lot of birthdays to remember!
Again, this is clear from the numbers in Genesis 5. Adam died after 930 years. And if you add up all the numbers, you find that Enoch was taken up to heaven after 987 years. So, this was soon after the death of Adam, and before any of the other patriarchs died.
Imagine the impact of this first recorded death by natural causes. Abel had been killed, but that was before Seth or any of his descendants were born. Since the birth of Seth, all of these patriarchs carried on living.
But over time Adam became weaker. Picture Seth, and Enosh, and Kenan, and Mahalalel, and Jared, and Enoch, and Methuselah, and young Lamech all gathering round the old man. They knew what death was because they had seen it in the animals, but when the first man died, all of the others knew this is what will happen to me!
We live in a world that is far from God and all of us are going to die. But God is full of grace and mercy and soon after the death of Adam, God gave a wonderful sign that death’s power would be broken.
Death is like a river that separates us from the presence of God in heaven. All have to cross the river. But Enoch did not go through it. God picked him up and carried him across it!
“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:24)
“By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:5,6)
God gave this marvellous sign that one day even death itself will be conquered. Enoch was taken. We read this story and we wonder; how can this be? The answer lies in the resurrection and the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Saviour broke the power of death when He rose from the grave. He was “taken up” into heaven (Acts 1:11) And He says to us, I go to prepare a place for you and…I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:2-3).
Death for a believer is Christ taking us home. Most of us will be taken through the river. Those who are alive when Christ comes in glory will be taken across the river, without going through it. Either way, it is Christ who will take us up, and we will be at home with Him.
Enoch walked with God, Enoch walked with God in the light of the coming Judgment, Enoch walked with God after he became a father, Enoch walked with God until God took him home, and lastly Enoch walked with God by faith.
Enoch walked with God by faith
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6)
Enoch walked with God. But what does that have to do with us? This ancient story may seem a long way from the realities of your life today, but Hebrews applies the story of Enoch directly to us.
After telling us about Enoch who walked with God, Hebrews says, “Whoever would draw near to God.” Walking with God is not just for Enoch. This is for us today. Whoever would draw near to God! This is an open invitation. “Whoever” is as inclusive as you can get.
How can we draw near to God?
So how can you draw near to God? How can you live in a constant, conscious enjoyment of the presence of God?
This verse gives us two answers:
If you would draw near to God, you must believe that He exists (verse 6). There’s more here than believing there is a God. Whoever would draw near to God must believe that He is!
There is clearly a reference here to God revealing His name to Moses. Moses asked the Lord, ‘What is your name?’ And God said, I am that I am (Exodus 3:14).
If you would draw near to God, you must believe that He is who He says He is. Don’t go looking for a God of your own imagination. God has made Himself known in the Scriptures, and If you want to walk with Him, you must believe what He says about Himself.
If you would draw near to God, you must believe…that He rewards those who seek Him (verse 6). It’s no good saying, ‘If God wants me, He can make himself known to me. God has made Himself known in Jesus Christ.
Our calling is to seek Him. This is a constant theme of Scripture.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7,8)
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6,7)
God “rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). What is the reward? The reward of seeking God is finding Him. God said to Abraham, “Do not be afraid… I am your shield, your very great reward (Genesis 15:1 NIV). God is the reward of those who seek Him.
God invites you to live in the constant, conscious enjoyment of His presence. If you seek Him, you will find Him.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with your whole heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
Turning from Sin (Part 2)
Dr Ben Hooman
What would you say are the top three sins to which you are most vulnerable right now in your life?
If you don’t know the answer to that, how can you possibly be on your defences against them and how can you possibly launch an assault towards them?
Sunday 18 April 2021
Ps Bernadine Hooman
Last time we looked at the definition of faith and what faith is. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. It is important for us to know what faith is for we walk, stand, live, and be saved by faith. The aim of the series is that faith will be formed in your soul, and that you will find strength to endure in faith.
Scripture: Genesis 4:1-16, Hebrews 11:4
Please open your Bible at Hebrews 11. We are looking at this marvellous chapter that was written to strengthen believers in face of unrelenting pressure. The book of Hebrews says,
“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” (Hebrews 10:36)
You have need of endurance and faith is what will enable you to endure. Then comes this marvellous exposition of faith in the next chapter. It begins with a definition:
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)
Now that raises the question: How can we be sure of things that we hope for? Things that don’t yet exist like redeemed bodies, a perfect church, and a perfect world?
The answer is that these are the things God has promised, and we saw last time that faith trusts what God has promised. Then we are told that faith is ‘the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Again, the question is: How can we be convinced of things we cannot see? Things that are invisible to us, like;
God – in sovereign control of all that happens in our lives and in our world.
Jesus – exalted at the right hand of the Father.
Us – forgiven, loved and destined for heaven, in Christ.
These are all things that we cannot see, then how can we be convinced as such? The answer is that these are things that God has revealed, and faith believes what God has revealed.
Here is where we begin last time: Faith believes what God has revealed and trusts what God has promised. In other words, faith is formed and then fed by the Word of God. This is how it is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
We saw that this this is really good news. God has given the same promises and the same revelation to all people. You can open the Bible and see for yourself what God has said and what God has done.
“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ…and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)
That is the foundation for our series here in Hebrews 11. You have need of endurance. You will endure by faith. Faith believes what God has revealed and trusts what God has promised.
That’s what faith is. The rest of Hebrews 11 tells us what faith does. And here God teaches us by pointing to real-life examples of faith in action. What does it look like to walk, stand, and live by faith? The writer to Hebrews answers with a series of illustrations, and each of them highlights a distinct aspect of faith.
We begin today with the story of Abel, the first of ten models of faith we will learn from in this series and from his story we learn that faith listens to God. It is what faith does! We have seen what faith is, now we seeing what faith does – and faith listens to God.
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4)
Let us begin with this story of Abel and go back in the Bible to the book of Genesis.
The Story (Genesis 4)
Here we have the story of two boys who grew up in the same believing family. They have the same parents, and are brought up in the same way. They come to the same altar, to worship the same God.
We are told that,
“Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was a worker of the ground” (Genesis 4:2)
Both of these men brought offerings to the LORD.
“In the course of time, Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground. And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.” (Genesis 4:3,4)
Here are two brothers. Both of them believe in God. Both of them come to worship God. Both of them offer something to God. Then we come to the big surprise in the story. One of the brothers is accepted by God. The other is not. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.
“… And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” (Genesis 4:4,5)
Here is the question: How did they know that one offering was accepted and the other was not? We don’t know for sure, but there is an old tradition that fire came down from heaven and burned up Abel’s sacrifice. I think that may have been the case.
The reason in believing that is that there are other places in the Old Testament where God showed His acceptance of a sacrifice by sending fire from heaven: Leviticus 9:24 tells us “fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering…and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces” (Leviticus 9:24).
The same thing happened when Elijah offered a sacrifice on Mt. Carmel, (see Judges 6:21,13:19). If this was the case, you can imagine the scene: The first family arrives at the altar, a heap of stones. Adam says, “Boys, this place is special. The altar is where God Himself comes near to meet with us. Abel, you go first. Place your gift on the altar, offer your prayer, confess your sins, and then stand well back!”
Abel follows his father’s instruction: Then, suddenly, to his absolute amazement, fire falls from the sky. It strikes the sacrifice like lightening and burns up the offering. Abel watches wide-eyed. God has heard his prayer. God has accepted his sacrifice. The smile of God is upon him.
Then Cain steps up to the altar: With great care, he arranges his fruit and vegetables on top of the stones. He offers his prayer, and then steps back in anticipation. But nothing happens. An hour later, Cain’s display of fruit and vegetables remains as it was, a gift offered, but evidently not received. At this point we are told that,
“… Cain was very angry and his face fell” (Genesis 4:5)
He must have said, “Why does God put on a display of fireworks for Abel but not for me? What is so special about Abel and his offering?” The more Cain thought about it, the angrier he became.
That’s the story. But what does it mean? What is its significance for us today? The answer is in Hebrews 11. Let us get back to our text together and I want you to see how the focus of this verse is on the sacrifice.
The Sacrifice
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts” (Hebrews 11:4)
Notice that the reason Abel was accepted and Cain was not, lay in the sacrifice. “By faith, Abel offered… a more acceptable sacrifice”.
Some writers focus on the way the sacrifice was brought. They read the story like this: Two men brought their gifts to God. Abel had faith, so when he offered his lamb he was accepted by God. If Cain had offered his fruit and vegetables with faith, he would have been accepted by God too.
But Hebrews does not say that Abel offered a more acceptable faith. It says, “he offered a more acceptable sacrifice.”
And notice, Hebrews does not say that God commended him as righteous by accepting his faith. It says that God commended him “by accepting his gifts.”
The story here is not about a better brother. It is about a better sacrifice. It wasn’t Abel’s faith that made him right with God. It was the sacrifice that made Him right with God. This raises an obvious question: How did Abel know what sacrifice to bring? And it seems clear that God had revealed this. Not only to Abel but also to Cain, and first it been revealed to Adam and Eve.
Hebrews tells us that, “by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.” We saw last time that faith believes what God has revealed, and trusts what God has promised.
It follows that if Abel brought his sacrifice by faith, God must have revealed the sacrifice He wanted the brothers to bring!
Abel wasn’t guessing when he offered the lamb from the flock. He didn’t say “Now what shall I offer God? I wonder what would happen if I sacrificed a lamb and sprinkled its blood on the altar? Maybe I should try that”.
No. Hebrews tells us that Abel offered the sacrificed lamb by faith. And faith believes what God has revealed and trusts what God has promised!
One commentator on Hebrews says, “Faith throughout the whole of the chapter is the belief of a divine revelation. It is plain then that a revelation had been made both to Cain and Abel respecting the duty of offering sacrifice, and the acceptable method of performing that duty.”
Is there any evidence that God had revealed what these men should offer? Yes, there is. On the day Adam and Eve sinned, Scripture tells us that,
“And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21)
Where did the skins come from? You can’t make a garment of skins without the death of an animal. I believe that the first sacrifice was made on the day that the first sin was committed.
We read that God clothed our first parents with the skins of animals and by far the most probable account of this matter is, that these were the skins of animals which He had commanded them to offer in sacrifice. I’m convinced that was the case, and here’s why. God had said to Adam and Eve,
“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17)
Then Satan came into the garden. Eve told him what God had said, but the enemy said, “You shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Now who was telling the truth? Who was to be trusted? God or the enemy? God said, “in the day you eat of it (the tree) you shall surely die.”
Death did come to the Garden that day, but in the mercy of God, it did not come to Eve or to Adam directly. A lamb died in their place that day. Another life was laid down as a substitute for theirs.
God’s way of making sinners right with Himself through a life laid down as a sacrifice in our place goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. If God had revealed this to Adam and Eve, you can be sure that they taught it to their children.
Imagine Adam and Eve talking with their boys after another day of back-breaking work in the fields: “Boys, the world was not always like this. There was a time when your mom and I enjoyed a life you have never known in a place you have never seen. The God who made us filled our lives with good gifts in a perfect world, and at the end of the day God would appear to us and walk with us in the Garden.”
“You and mom saw God?” “Yes, we did. But then we were tempted. God had given us a command for our own protection, and we broke it. After that we hid from God, but He found us and when He did, I thought we were done for. But God is full of mercy. And, on that day we learned that another life would be laid down for us.”
Cain and Abel knew what God had revealed in the Garden. Abel believed the revelation. He knew himself to be a sinner and he trusted in the provision that God has made. By faith he offered the acceptable sacrifice.
But Cain did not believe what God had revealed. He acknowledged God as the author of the good gifts he enjoyed in his harvest. But he did not believe that he was a sinner. He did not see the need for a sacrifice.
Now that is the story. Its focus is on the sacrifice. In the time remains, let us look at three applications. What does all of this have to do with us today?
Applications:
Faith listens to God
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.” (Hebrews 11:4)
Cain would tell you that he had faith. If you said to him, “Cain, you need to have faith like your brother, Abel,” He would have said “What do you mean? I have a strong faith! I believe in God. I go to worship…My faith is very important to me! I a farmer and I know that God makes things grow. God makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall. That’s why, when I bring in my harvest, I bring my offering to God. What do you mean I need to have faith?”
Cain believed in God. He believed that the good things in his life were gifts from God’s hand but he did not listen to what God said, as many people do today. He did not believe what God had revealed. He did not trust what God had promised. This comes out clearly when God speaks directly to Cain.
“The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?” (Genesis 4:6)
Cain heard the audible voice of God Himself, just as Saul of Tarsus heard the voice of the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? (Genesis 4:7).
Cain had an open invitation to come to God in the way that God had appointed. “Cain, you too can be accepted. You too can be commended as righteous. But you must come to God in the way that He has revealed. And that is on the basis of a life that is laid down as a sacrifice for you.”
“And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door” (Genesis 4:7)
This is the first time the word ‘sin’ is used in the Bible. What is sin? “Cain, you know how you light a fire at night to keep wild animals away? Sin is like a wild animal that can destroy you, and if you will not believe what God has revealed and trust what God has promised, sin will overpower you.”
Every time God speaks, this man has a rebuttal. Until in Genesis 4:16 we read,
“Cain went away from the presence of the Lord.” (Genesis 4:16)
Cain is the father of those who claim to have faith but do not believe what God has revealed. You will have met people like this. They will talk a great deal about God and about faith, but they will not listen to Scripture. But faith listens to what God has said. It is formed and fed by the Word of God.
Are you listening to God when He tells you in Scripture, that sin is crouching at your door, looking to destroy you? Do you see your need of His strength and His Spirit to overcome it this week?
Are you listening to God when He tells you in Scripture, that the way to be commended as righteous before God is through the life of another being laid down for you, and that God Himself provided this sacrifice when He came into the world in the person of Jesus?
Are you listening to God when He tells you in Scripture, that the sacrifice for sin has been made once for all and that it is sufficient to cover all of your guilt and all of your shame, so that today, you can be commended as righteous by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Faith is formed and fed by the Word of God. Your faith will grow as you read the Scripture, and as you let your mind and heart be shaped by what God has said.
Faith listens to God, and secondly,
Faith can never be silenced
“And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4)
Faith provokes the world’s anger. And what we have in this story is the world’s first attempt to silence the voice of faith. Think about this: Cain had brought an impressive gift to God. He believes in God. He comes to worship. He brings a gift. Surely, God will be pleased with this man?
Now let us complete the story from Genesis chapter 3 where it makes very clear that faith provokes the world’s anger. And what we have in this story is actually the world’s first attempt to silence the voice of faith.
‘But for Cain and his offering he [the Lord] had no regard” (Genesis 4:5)
It wasn’t that Cain’s offering fell short. It didn’t even get God’s attention. And when Cain saw this, he was angry. “How dare God disregard me and what I have done!” What we really feel towards God will be revealed when He doesn’t give us what we want.
Cain’s anger was directed towards God, but he took it out on his believing brother. We can picture Abel trying to win his brother:
Abel: “Brother Cain, it breaks my heart to see you like this. If you bring the sacrifice God requires, God will commend you as righteous.”
Cain: “Who do you think you are trying to tell me what to bring? You must think you are the voice of God!”
Abel: “No! I’m just telling you what God has said.”
Cain: “You’re always trying to make out that you are better than me”
Abel: “No That’s not it, Cain. I just wish you would listen to what God has said!”
But Cain would not listen. Over time his anger increased, and then we are told,
“Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” (Genesis 4:8)
Cain was determined that the voice of faith should be silenced. But here’s from the learn from the story: The voice of faith can never be silenced!
Hebrews tells us that Abel still speaks:
“And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4)
Abel speaks across the centuries, and is an abiding witness to the faith that listens to what God has said and trusts in the sacrifice He has revealed.
Martin Luther says of Abel, “He who when he was … alive could not teach even his only brother by his faith and example, now that he is dead teaches the whole world.”
Faith listens to God, and Faith can never be silenced, and thirdly,
Faith rests in Christ and what He has accomplished
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous”. (Hebrews 11:4)
This story, like every story in the Bible, points us to Jesus Christ. What does it take for a person to be commended as righteous before a holy God? A life must be laid down in sacrifice!
Abel’s sacrifice of a lamb from the flock points forward to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins (Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2). He was led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7). Our sins were laid on Him and He died in our place.
And God demonstrated that Jesus is the “acceptable sacrifice,” not by sending fire from heaven but by raising Him from the dead! And now, through Jesus Christ, and what He accomplished on the cross, all who believe are commended as righteous before God.
Turning from Sin (Part 1)
Ps Ben Hooman
Last time we saw that in growing in the knowledge of God puts us on a path of a changed or transformed life. As we come to know God better, so we will become more aware of our own sins. In this teaching our focus focus is going to be on turning from as much as you know of your as you come into the light of God. We will be looking at a three-step strategy for fighting sin and prevailing over it in your life.
Faith Defined
Ps Ben Hooman
The Christian life from beginning to end is a journey of faith. We walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:6,7), we stand by faith (Romans 11:20), we live by faith (Galatians 2:20), we are saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8). If we are to walk, stand, live, and be saved by faith, we need to know and understand what faith is and what faith does.
TCC – THE CHRISTIAN CAMPUS
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE:CRUCIFIXION
02 April 2021
Ps Ben Hooman
Welcome to our special Good Friday service. Last year we could not gather and was just not the same. We then just entered a lockdown, something that we never experienced before. The days that led up to Jesus being crucified and that day that He died for us was also something never experienced and never to be repeated again. He died once for all!
We have never been here before. This is a whole new world. Thank God that He is still in control. You have the presence of God leading you through times you’ve never been through, and places you’ve never been through before, and you going to be all right.
Please open your Bible at Psalm 22. Out of the all of the Old Testament, the greatest chapter in all the Bible in the Old Testament is Psalms 22. Every other time we see Calvary, we see Calvary from the ground up. We are looking up at Jesus on the cross.
But when you read Psalms 22, it literally is David who takes a look at Calvary from the cross looking down. He crawls into the eyes of Messiah.
I want you to listen to these astounding prophecies. They are so incredible and perfectly accurate. Jewish culture knew nothing about crucifixion for over a thousand years before the Roman Empire took over the Jewish nation of Israel and introduced to them punishment through crucifixion.
David, a thousand year before, have never seen anyone died on the cross. Listen to the prophecy of Calvary: He starts with verse 1 of Psalms 22 with the very words of Jesus 1500 years later that Jesus quoted while hanging on the cross.
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me”? (Psalm 22:1)
Then you go from not only those words, “My God”, and in verse two he describes how spiritual darkness covering the earth when he says “It is a night season”.
“O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear; and in the night season I am not silent” (Psalm 22:2)
He is prophesying, “I’m seeing Messiah die”. He says, “I see darkness covering the earth at noontime”. It was day time then it was dark.
That is the prophecy, when Jesus died. The whole world was filled with darkness. The city of Jerusalem was covered in darkness and they could not see one another at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
Listen to what he says in the sixth verse,
“I have become a reproach to the people”. (Psalm 22:6)
He quotes the people around the cross saying these words. Listen to the accuracy of this prophecy verse seven,
“He trusted in Him to let Him deliver Himself”. (Psalm 22:7)
Matthew at the crucifix was saying, “You saved others, save Yourself” (Matthew 27:42).
All this written 1500 years before.
“The bulls of Bay Sean surrounded Me and left a gap in Me”. (Psalm 22:12)
David did not know how to describe it. He is seeing something prophetically. He sees a gaping wound in the Messiah. “The only way I can describe it like this: A bull wrestling someone with his horns stabbing him in the sides”. We know that that was the spear of the Roman soldier. Listen to more accuracy in verse 14,
“I’m poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me”. (Psalm 22:14)
The Bible said when the soldier stabbed Jesus in the side, it poured forth water and blood. He is drowning in His own fluid. “My heart is like wax melded within me”. It is known that when people would be crucified, they would literally drown in their own fluid. “My bones are pulled out of joint.”
He said in verse 15,
“My splint is dried up. My tongue clings to my jaw”. (Psalm 22:15)
What is he describing? The blistering thirst. Jesus said on the cross “I thirst. I thirst”. And they took a bitter sponge of vinegar and pressed it to his mouth to drink. Here is the description 1500 years before, “My tongue clings to my jaw, I’m dried up. I thirst. I thirst”.
And then he said,
“Dogs have surrounded me, the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet. I can count all My bones.” (Psalm 22:16,17)
Again, no one in the time that it was written ever have internet, they didn’t have some way of communicating with the rest of the world. There was no such thing as death by a cross in Jewish Israel, in that culture.
But David saw it with such description of Calvary, he saw the Messiah, he said “They pierced my hands and my feet and hence”, even more, verse 18,
“They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” (Psalm 22:18)
And you go to the book of Matthew, while Jesus is hanging on the cross, they stripped him naked and shamed and Roman soldiers were casting, rolling the dice trying to win the garments of Messiah.
It is dark and it is death and it is down, down, down. Then the story starts changing, because the same chapter is not only the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But everything shifts. He closes out the dark side with saying verse 21,
“Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.” (Psalm 22:21)
We know that Satan is the lion referred to here. He is ripping Him to pieces and He is dying. Then it says this, “You have answered me”. Everything changes. Everything is down, down, down, and then right in the middle of the chapter verse 22,
“I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of assembly, I will praise You” (Psalm 22:22)
Now it is going up, up, up like death and crucifixion is down, down, down the story starts shifting. Psalm 22, “He inhabits the praises of his people”. That is in the middle of this. He says this, “My praise shall be in the great assembly”, there is coming a day when they will praise God in church, in the Kingdom of God in the great assembly over what has happened here, right here in this dark place called the crucifixion.
He says in verse 25,
“My praise shall be of You in the great assembly. We will remember, and all the ends of the world will remember this and turn to the Lord” (Psalm 22:25)
“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You” (Psalm 22:27)
And here we are, as His people, not perfect, messed up, dysfunctional, broken, and needy people. And Jesus died for us.
He said, “I’m doing it because there will come a day, when I’m going to get the attention of the world and I’m going to get the attention in people’s houses of the family”.
Listen to what he says. “The families of the nation shall worship, shall worship before You”. And it ends with this in verse 31,
“They will come and declare His righteousness to the people who will be born, that He has done this” (Psalm 22:31)
Calvary and Christianity are not do, do, do. It ends with: It is done! It is finished! He rose from the dead. He rose for you and your family!
This is a generational meal. Feel free to bring your children in for it. Feel free to let your babies in, because he said, “When a generation comes that was not here and they ask you what does this meal mean”?
He said “You teach your children about this meal because it is a generational meal”.
I want to conclude with this: the Passover meal you had the lamb on the table the people ate. That is not the virus, that is a move. You had the lamb on the table, but you go to the book of Matthew, and the Passover meal was lamb, bread, and the fruit of the vine, or juice.
Listen to this, but the communion, all four Gospels only say there is bread and wine. It does not say, it does not say there was lamb.
Why? Because the lamb was sitting at the table. The lamb is on the table. He is sitting at the table which means you cannot have this meal and the lamb not show up.
If you do it in faith, you cannot have this meal in faith with your family and the lamb not come.
He said, “This bread represents my body that is broken for you”. Just like you heard from Psalms 22. He did it for you and your family.
Take, eat this do in remembrance of me until I come again. Take the bread. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
And then he said, we are having to improvise we are using fruit juice, this is the wine of the new covenant.
He said “Take, drink this represents my blood that is shed for the new covenant. Take, drink this, do it in remembrance of me until I come”. Let us do it right now.
Thank you, Lord. Lord, we do apply the blood of Jesus on the door post, and we do apply the blood as we were told to do in the Old Testament on the side post, applying protection from the outside world, protection from the plague, virus, death.
May the blood of Jesus be on your house. He is going to sing in a moment. You can’t just go through this, this quarantine, and return to life as normal. But God’s will for you is to turn to Jesus, not return to normal, not return to emptiness, not return to things that don’t matter and won’t last eternity, but turn to Jesus.
Turn to Him with all of your heart. Turn to Him with all of your family. Turn to Him! Can you pray this aloud with me right now!
Lord, Jesus, I remember today what You did for me at Calvary, I remember what You did for me when they buried You in the tomb. I remember what You did for me when you rose again. Thank You for eternal life. Thank You for forgiveness. Thank you for You love me, You forgive me. I praise You for this, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen
We continue in our series on Repentance. Repentance: Turning from as much as you know of your sin, to give as much as you know of yourself, to as much as you know of God. Repentance flows from your knowledge of God. We saw it in the previous lesson as we looked at Job and we continue with “as much as you know of God”.
Willow to Palm
Sunday 28 March 2021
Ps Ben Hooman
“I know how to be abased, and I know how to be abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned to be both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.” Philippians 4:12,13
The Christian Campus 