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Sunday 05 July 2020

Ps Ben Hooman

We come today to the last of the Beatitudes that describe the character of a Christian. There is one more Beatitude, but it speaks about the experience of a Christian, which is to be blessed by God, and persecuted by the world. This is the last of our Lord’s seven-fold description of Christian character.

We said at the beginning of the series that these Beatitudes tell us what a true Christian looks like. They give us a grid on which to measure our progress.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

Today we come to the last of these distinguishing marks: The Christian is a peacemaker. Again, our plan is to look at what that means, and then next time at how we can pursue this calling.

The importance of peace

The fact that this is the last of the seventh Beatitudes suggests its importance. This is the top rung of the ladder, the last ring to which all of the others have been leading.

We have seen that there is order and progress in the Beatitudes, and the fact that this is last tells us much about the heart of God. This is the most difficult of all and much more difficult than purity.

In these last years, this country that we love has become notorious for violence. Just look at the abuse against women and children, the strife and hatred between groups of colour, and the strife of ideology in politics to have power and control over people, evidence of it all even in our city, all destroying relationships, even between people of God. The Bible speaks about “violence and strife in the city” (Psalm 55:9).

Violence and strife in the city

“Destroy O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city” (Psalm 55:9)

There is strife in the city because there is strife in the family, and there is strife in the family because there is strife in our hearts. Psalm 55 is a lament over broken relationships. If you go through that experience, you will find it profoundly helpful.

When David says “I see violence and strife in the city,” he is talking about the city of God. The strife and violence did not come from invading armies. It rose up from among the people of God themselves.

“For it is not an enemy who taunts me – then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me – then I could hide from him. It is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house when we walked in the throne.” (Psalm 55:12-13)

David speaks words that will be well understood by anyone who knows the grief of trust being betrayed, whether in a marriage, or in a business partnership, or even in church.

“My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. His speech was as smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart.” (Psalm 55:20-21)

There’s only one answer to that:

“Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

Thomas Watson has a vivid picture: Satan kindles the fire of contention in men’s hearts and then stands and warms himself at the fire.

Called to peace

There are peacemakers and there are peace breakers. God calls us to be peacemakers in a world of conflict. God has called you to peace. 

If you belong to Jesus Christ this is your calling. God calls you to contribute to the peace of your family: Picture your father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter. They are your family.

They may love each other dearly; they may be at each other’s throats.  They may not be speaking to each other, whatever it’s like, God calls you to contribute, to the best of your ability, to the peace of your family. Whether it’s dysfunctional or happy; you are called by God to be an influencer towards making it better.

It’s the same in the church: As a member of the congregation, God calls you to contribute to its peace. That’s not an option; it is a calling from God Himself.

The same is true at work, in the community, in a restaurant. Wherever you are, whatever you do, God has called you to peace, and therefore plan for peace.

Plan for peace

“Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.” (Proverbs 12:20)

Since this is the calling of God, we should be intentional about pursuing it: Plan peace! Where we don’t have it, as a believer we should be asking: What’s the best way to get it? And where we do have it, we should be asking: How can we protect it? How do we make sure we don’t lose this peace?

What is peace? In the Bible, the word “shalom” (or peace) is more than the absence of conflict. It is the active enjoyment of all that is good.

As I think about what I say and what I do, I should be asking this question: What would promote peace? What would promote the greatest wholeness and health in my family, church, colleagues, neighbours and friends? I should plan for that, plot it, hatch schemes for it. Plan peace! Those who plan peace have great joy!

Work for peace

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Peacemakers don’t stop with plans; they plan the work and they work the plan. The word “strive” indicates effort, hard work, and perseverance.  There’s a reason why it’s the seventh beatitude, because it is the summit.

Today we look at what it means to be a peacemaker, and why peacemakers are called sons of God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”.

What It Means to be a Peacemaker

Peacemakers are people who bring peace to others, because they have it themselves. They are at peace within. A person who lives with unresolved conflict on their own heart cannot bring peace to others.Conflict seems to follow some people around. The reason it follows them is that it lives in them. What fills you will spill out from you when other people bump into you. You cannot give what you do not have.

How do you get peace?

Peace in your heart flows from purity in your life. Notice the order: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).  “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God” (5:9). There’s a direct connection.

“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open for reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17)

First pure, then peaceable, and clearly there is an order there. Peace of heart flows from purity of life. Why?

Purity of heart is to “will one thing.” The person who wills one thing is a person who can be at peace. The impure person has a heart that is fundamentally divided. He or she wants two contradictory things at the same time. As long as that unresolved conflict rages there is no peace. James speaks about this:

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.”  (James 4:1-2)

Passions are “at war” at the core of the divisive person. If this person had come to a place of willing one thing, they would have a means of dealing with their passions. But without purity, this person finds himself constantly “limping between two opinions,” to use Elijah’s wonderful phrase.

He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). That’s why the Bible says, “There is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). The wicked cannot have peace because they do not have purity.

Peace flows from purity, so the more you pursue purity, the more you will discover and enjoy peace in your heart. The more you give way to impurity, the more conflicted, disturbed and restless you will become.

Bringing peace to others

Peacemakers are people who bring peace to others, because they have it themselves.

Most of us can think of a relationship that didn’t end as we would have liked it to end. We live in a fallen world, and even at our best we’re sinners in the process of recovery. Other Christians, let alone those who are not in the Lord, are in the same position.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a place where we are not able to make peace. We feel as David did in Psalm 55. How do you live with that?

How you grow as a Christian

This entire series has been about sanctification: It’s not about how you become a Christian; it’s about how you grow as a Christian. This series is about what Christian growth or Christian maturity looks like.

There is no doctrine in the Bible that Christians struggle with more than with the doctrine of sanctification. It’s important to remember that sanctification is a journey in which every Christian makes progress. But no Christian completes the journey in this life.

Purity of heart (to will one thing), hunger and thirst for righteousness, meekly submitting to the will of God, the beginnings of all these things are in the heart of every child of God.

If there is no sense in which you are pursing purity of heart, you’re not yet a Christian. If there is no sense in which you find in yourself a hunger and a thirst for righteousness, you’re not yet a Christian. If there is no sense in which you are submitting yourself to God, you are not yet a Christian.

So, as we look at ourselves in the mirror of these Beatitudes, we will be thankful for the grace of God if we have begun this journey, and we will be humbled because we still have so far to go. If you are the most mature Christian in this congregation, this will be your experience.

This whole question of sanctification is troubling to many people for different reasons. Some lack progress because they do not see what they could become: “This is who I am, and I’m never going to be anything more.” Others see what they could become so clearly that they feel defeated, and they are overwhelmed by their lack of progress.

We desperately need balanced, biblical thinking.

There is a little book by Bishop Handley Moule, that is very helpful. It’s called Thoughts on Christian Sanctity. Not the most exciting title, but in the 19th century, people were wise enough to choose books by the author rather than by the title.

This is an important matter to tuck away in your mind. Who you read matters more than what you read. Are you reading someone that you have good reason to believe is following hard after God, or is it just another populist or someone boosting own ego.

The first chapter of Moule’s book on sanctification is titled “Aims, limits and possibilities” Under aims he says: It is nothing less than the supreme aim of the Christian Gospel, that we should be holy. In particular he identifies these aims for every Christian:

Aims

To be like Him “whom not having seen, we love…” To displace self from the throne and to enthrone him, To make not the smallest compromise with the slightest sin.

We aim at nothing less than to walk with God all day long; to abide every hour in Christ, to love God with all the heart, and our neighbour as ourselves.

Limits

I mean not limits in our aims, for there must be none, nor limits in divine grace itself, for there are none, but limits, however caused, in the actual attainments by us of Christian holiness. There will be limits to the last, and very humbling limits… to the last, it will be a sinner who walks with God.

In other words, there will be limits to what you attain in every one of these Beatitudes; purity of heart, meekly submitting to the will of God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and mourning over your sins.

There will also be limits in what you attain when it comes to peace-making. Peace is never complete in this life. The world will persecute you, hate you and say all kinds of evil things about you. There won’t be any peace there. This is why Paul says,

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

There will be situations where you cannot make peace. But don’t let that stop you from trying. Don’t quit the journey just because you can’t get to the end of the road.

Possibilities

To live in peace in the midst of pressure; For affections and imagination to be purified through faith; To see the will of God in everything, not with a sigh but with a song.

Some Christians are troubled because they forget the limits. They are constantly downgrading themselves for their lack of progress saying, “After all these years I have been a Christian, I should be much further on than I am.”

Others are hindered because they don’t see the possibilities, they haven’t really grasped what God can do for them. They find it very difficult to picture themselves in a better condition of spiritual health.  They speak about having to “come to terms” with themselves. There’s a sadness about them because they do not have much hope.

Here’s what you need for a balanced, biblical approach to sanctification: Embrace the aim! Recognize the limits! Go after the possibilities!

All of that is beautifully expressed in prayer of Robert Murray McCheyne: Lord, make me as holy as it is possible for a pardoned sinner to be. When it comes to peace-making, you could pray, “Let me bring peace as far as is possible in this fallen world.”

Why peacemakers are called sons of God

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”  (Matthew 5:9)

God has peace in Himself. In the Bible, He is called: “The God of peace” (Hebrews 13:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Romans 15:33).

We spoke last time about gazing on the glory of God. Do that with me for a moment as we think about His peace.

God has peace in Himself. Think of the complexity of the Trinity and all God is. There is no tension between Father, Son, and Spirit. The persons of the Trinity are one in purpose, one in love. God is the God of peace.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is described as “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). When He came into the world, the angels said “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace! Goodwill towards men!”

The Bible says that Christ is our peace. All our peace is going to come from Him and through Him. He came into the world to make peace, and He did it by shedding His blood on the cross.

“For in Him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)

The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of Peace” (Matthew 3:16). When Jesus was baptized, Matthew tells us that the Spirit of God descended on Him like a dove. Everyone knows that the dove is the symbol of peace.

The greatest revelation of the glory of God ever to be made in this world was at the cross where His love and His justice meet. Why are His love and His justice meeting there? Because He’s making peace.

God’s glory is revealed most fully in His making peace through the cross, and when you make peace, you display His likeness. Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”  When you make peace, you reflect the likeness of God. People see a reflection of His glory. Think about how God makes peace, and what it’s going to take for you to do this hard work.

God’s way of making peace:

Don’t stand on your rights

Christ was in the form of God. But He did not grasp what was His by right. He left heaven. He stepped down. He came into the world for us. Why? To make peace. You will not make peace by standing on your rights.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones says: If God stood upon His rights and dignity, upon His person, every one of us… would be consigned to hell and absolute perdition.

We live in a world of rights, where people often say, “It’s my right.” It may be your right, and there may be times when it is appropriate to insist on your rights, but what is the best way to make peace?

Every time you think about your rights, remind yourself, “If God stood on His rights, I would be in hell forever and so would everyone else.” You don’t make peace by standing on your rights.

Move toward the trouble

But don’t move toward all trouble. Some people are drawn to trouble. They look for fights because they want to get involved. People like that are obviously not Christians.

Our calling is to act as peacemakers, and where you can be a peacemaker, you will move toward the trouble. That is what God did in the incarnation.

A wise person once gave counsel on dealing with situations of conflict: “Always move towards the barking dog.” That’s never my inclination. If a dog is barking, that’s the last thing we want to do. Our instinct is to back off. When the world was barking at God, he did not back off. He moved towards us. He came to us, and what did that lead to? The shedding of His blood on the cross.

Making peace does not mean avoiding conflict. Peacemakers often cause trouble in pursuing peace. I believe that is what Jesus was referring to when He said, “I have not come to bring peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:24). When the peacemaker came there was an outpouring of violence against Him. People took sides over Him.

Christ came to make peace between men and God. He moved towards the trouble, but when He came the trouble flared. That will often be the experience of a peacemaker. Peace-making is not for the faint-hearted for it takes immense courage. It is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. For Jesus it meant laying down His life.

Love before you are loved in return

“God demonstrates His own love for us in this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Amazing! Could you do that? Could you love and keep loving where love is not returned? Of course not, unless the Spirit of Jesus were to actually live in you.

Here’s a prayer that you could make your own:

Let us pray:

Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred let me bring your love, where there is injury, your pardon, Lord, and where there’s doubt true faith in you. O Master grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love with all my soul. Make me a channel of your peace. In the Your Name we pray my Lord, Amen.

Sunday 28 June 2020

Ps Ben Hooman

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Purity of heart does not mean sinlessness of life. Christians in this world are sinners in the process of recovery. There is growth, there is progress, but there is never perfection in this life.

“If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8)

What does ‘purity of heart’ mean

An undivided heart

Purity of heart is to will one thing. A pure heart is a single heart, the opposite of a divided heart. “Not that I am already made perfect,” says Paul, but “one thing I do…”

A clean heart

We saw that when Christ becomes yours and you become His through the bond of faith, three wonderful gifts become yours:

 – Justification, which is legal (in Christ God drops all charges against you),

– Forgiveness, which is relational (in Christ God reconciles you to himself),

– Cleansing, which is personal (in Christ God washes your heart and your life).

The sixth Beatitude is about cleansing. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” It’s about God taking the baggage of your life; the effects on your soul of what you have seen and thought and loved and done, and washing you, cleansing your mind and your heart.

It’s about God dealing with our twisted patterns of thinking, our misdirected patterns of loving and our compulsive patterns of behaving.

Now today we come to the all-important question: How can I cultivate this purity of heart?

How to Pursue ‘Purity of Heart’

Purity arises from the pursuit of the first four Beatitudes.

There is a roots-life-fruit pattern to these Beatitudes. The roots and the life are in the first four Beatitudes: Poor in spirit, mourning, meekness (submitting to God), and hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

The fruit is in the next three: Mercy, purity and peace. The first four Beatitudes are the means by which you get to the last three.

What about this question, “What if you aren’t motivated to pursue purity?  What if you know there are things you need to let go of, but you don’t want to do it?”

One answer lies in the second Beatitude and that is mourning over you your sin. This involves seeing what it is costing you, what it is costing others, and what it cost Christ.

How do you get there? It starts by realizing afresh the poverty of your condition before God. Another answer lies in the fourth Beatitude: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

How do you get there? You get there from the third Beatitude, which is all about submitting yourself fully to God.

The point here is that you can’t go after purity in isolation. There is a pattern of progress in the Christian life. The character in each of these Beatitudes flows from the pursuit of what went before.

God calls us to be proactive in the pursuit of purity

Notice the active language of the Bible in relation to purity of heart:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8)

Notice who is acting here: You are to “purify your hearts.”

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Again, notice who is acting here: We are! Let us cleanse ourselves!

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,” (1 Peter 1:22)

The Bible never speaks of believers justifying themselves but it does speak of Christians purifying themselves by obedience to the truth.

“Everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself, as He [Christ] is pure.” (1 John 3:3)

This is of huge importance. The language of the Bible is passive in regard to justification but active in regard to sanctification. When it comes to justification, we can only look to Christ to do it. All that we bring is an empty hand open to receive. “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to your cross I cling.” But sanctification is different.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Of course, we look to Christ to make us holy but the pursuit of holiness is a calling in which the Christian is actively engaged. Bishop Ryle says: In justification, our own works have no place at all, and simple faith in Christ is the one thing needful. In sanctification our own works are of vast importance and God bids us fight, and watch, and pray, and strive and take pains, and labour.

God puts a responsibility on you for your growth in purity. Confusion over this point is a major reason why many Christians make little progress.

As a pastor, I have seen many people wonderfully changed, people who in large measure have got free from the baggage of the past, people who have mastered the sharp tongue, the fearful spirit, the self-absorbed life. And then there are others who seem to make little or no progress. They remain much as they were, and over time simply become an older version of what they were before.

What makes the difference? I’m convinced that the difference lies in the seven practices that I want to lay before you this day.

Seven practices that promote ‘Purity of Heart’

Believe:

The practice of trusting Christ to change you

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the ocean that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-7)

We spent time on this last time, so I will only touch it briefly today. Many people who profess to be Christians simply do not believe that Christ is able to deal with the baggage of their lives. They feel that their temptations are too strong, their failures are too many, and their wounds are too deep even for Christ Himself.

If you do not believe that Christ can change you, you are not yet exercising faith in Him. I do not say that you are not a Christian. Jesus said to His own disciples on one occasion, “Where is your faith?”

You have faith, but you are not exercising it! Faith in Christ is confidence in His ability to justify, to forgive and to cleanse through the power of his shed blood. And faith is the means by which we receive good gifts from Christ. James tells us we are to ask in faith, with no doubting.

Progress in the Christian life begins with believing that Christ can cleanse you. So, to every person who languishes in despair, feeling that the habits of your mind are too engrained, the inclinations of your heart are too deep, and the pull of your desires are too strong, I say, look to this Saviour Jesus Christ. He has cleansed others and He is able to cleanse you.

Put your trust in Him. Believe in Him. This is the first thing you must do.

Confess:

The practice of naming and opposing particular sins

“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 confessing and cleansing are related. When you set your mind to go after purity, you need to identify the sins from which you want your soul to be purified.

What are the big sins that lurk in this soul and need to be hunted down? Pride, lust, greed, laziness, etc? If you cannot name two or three sins that you are currently seeking to overcome, you are probably not making significant progress in the pursuit of purity.

Confession is a habit of the healthy Christian life. If you have not confessed any specific sin to God in the last week, you are probably asleep at the wheel.

Build confession of specific sins into your prayer life. Don’t move on until you can name at least one. And then when you name it, set your mind and your heart to oppose it and ask the Lord to help you.

Our first calling is to confess our sins to God, but the Bible also speaks of healing that comes when we confess our sins to each other:

“Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16)

James is describing an environment of trust where you are able to share the front line of the battle with a mature believer who can pray with you and for you. Do this especially when you are struggling to gain victory over a stubborn sin in your life.

Obey:

The practice of immersing yourself in the Word of God

“Husbands, love you wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word.” (Ephesians 5:26)

We use the word “immerse” deliberately, because the Scriptures have a purifying effect in the life of a person who hears the Word and puts it into practice:

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17)

Over the years served as a pastor, I have noticed this consistent pattern: The people whose lives have been significantly changed are those who have immersed themselves in the Scriptures. They are like sponges absorbing the Word of God. They hide the Scripture in their hearts and it has a purifying effect in their lives.

The opposite is also true: I have never seen a person grow in purity of heart apart from the Word. The entrance of God’s Word gives light.

If you will immerse yourself in the Word of God, applying its truth to your life, you will grow in purity.

Worship:

The practice of gazing on the glory of God

“We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”  (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Here is a person who is “being transformed.” How is it happening? He or she is “beholding the glory of the Lord”.

This is not talking about heaven. It’s present tense. It’s talking about worship right here and now. You read the Word, you gather with God’s people, and you catch a glimpse of the greatness and the glory of Christ, and it changes you!

The principle is simple: Becoming by beholding. The more you see of the glory of Christ, the more you will be transformed into His likeness.

Think about how this works in practice. Let’s take someone who says that they are a sex addict. Compulsive habits and behaviours have built up into a pattern of life from which there seems to be no escape.

How did you get here? How did this thing gain such power in your life? You made an idol of this thing. You set your affection on this idol. You went to the idol for comfort. You looked to it for happiness. You worshipped your way into this addiction.

How are you going to get free from the power of this idol? You worshipped your way in, you must worship your way out. Practice gazing on the glory of God.

Some of you remember years of being passive in church, disengaged when others were worshipping in song. Your mind wandered when others were worshipping in the preaching of the Word. Then you got serious about growing purity, and you began to worship.

You worshipped as you changed and you changed as you worshipped!

Christ says to us, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” Purifying your heart will lead to you seeing God. But the reflex also holds true; seeing God will lead to you purify your heart.

Remember how that happened for Isaiah. He was a prophet with a fine reputation. Then he sees the glory of the Lord, and he becomes aware of his uncleanness: “I am a man of unclean lips.” He hadn’t seen that before. Seeing the glory of the Lord had a purifying effect on him.

Here’s this man in the ministry, and a new vision of God compels him to live in a whole new way. It leads him to say, “Here am I, send me,” and it sustains him in a task that was overwhelmingly difficult.

You say, “Well, that was Isaiah, he saw the Lord!” But faith sees the glory of the Lord in worship:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Worship may be the most under-utilized means of grace that God has given to us. Remember how Moses prayed to God “Show me Your glory.” That’s a great prayer to pray as you come to worship, or when you read the Word: “Open my eyes to behold Your glory, so that I may grow in purity.”

Ask:

The practice of praying for purity

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

This is a believer’s prayer. It is one that you can use often. We all need to be washed on a regular basis. Be proactive in asking God for purity. Thomas Watson says: Most men pray more for full purses than pure hearts. When did you last ask God for a pure heart?  Practice praying for purity.

Persevere:

The practice of getting up when you have fallen down

“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.” (Micah 7:8)

Nobody makes uninterrupted progress on the path of purity. When you set yourself to battle against sins that have held sway in your heart, know this: you will stumble and fall.

Don’t be surprised, and don’t be overwhelmed by another failure. Discouragement blunts the cutting edge of many believers. When you get tired of the battle, it’s easy to give up hope. You find yourself saying, “Well, it may work for other people, but it isn’t working for me.”

The people who have made progress in the Christian life are people who get up when they fall down, and that is what you must do! “When I fall, I shall rise.”

You say, “I have failed so many times…” Never give up! You say, “I am tired of the battle…” Never give up! Never, never, never, never, give up!

In Christ, you have an atoning sacrifice for your sins.

“But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not yours only but also for the sins of the world” (1 John 2:2)

In Christ, you have an advocate with the Father. Listen to these words:

“Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:3-4)

“Therefore, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 4:12-14)

Anticipate:

The practice of knowing who you are and rejoicing in what you will be

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1)

Who are you? In Christ, you are a dearly loved child of God. It’s hard to sin wilfully against love like that.

What will you be?

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2)

And notice what comes from knowing this:

“And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure” (1 John 3:3)

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” Some people have the idea that purity is something that you have when you are young, and then you lose it when you mess up. But in the Bible, purity is something that you go after. It is not so much something that you lose, but something that you gain as you grow in the Christian life.

Go after purity. a clean heart, an undivided heart, and the more you grow in purity of heart, the more you will see God. You will see more of Him in worship, more of Him in His Word, more of Him in your trials and in your triumphs, more of Him in others, and more on Him in His church.

All of this you will see with the eye of faith, and then when Christ comes or calls, you will see Him face-to-face. And when you see Him, you will be like Him.

Let us pray:

Lord, seal this in our hearts and into our minds. Make us not only hearers of the Word but also doers. And all of us who are given years in life, let us not be after that period of time just an older version of what we are right now, but let us grow in grace for the sake of Christ in whom Name we pray, Amen.

https://youtu.be/hRRy4Vr10LA

Sunday 28 June 2020

Ps Ben Hooman

This message have prepared the message today with a sense of awe that I hope you will feel as we immerse ourselves in these words of Jesus together.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

God speaks to us today from His Word about seeing Him: “They shall see God!” You will see Him face-to-face. You will stand before Him. You will behold the eternal living God before whom angels veil their faces!

God speaks to us today about being pure in heart: A heart that thinks what is right, loves what is good, and desires what is best.

Purity of heart

When one read this sixth Beatitude, the first reaction is to say, “This looks impossible.” We would be very surprised if there is a single person in the congregation who would say, “That’s me!”

When Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” blessed are those who know that they don’t have what it takes before God, it’s not very hard to say, “That’s me.” And when Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn,” it’s easy for us to think of our sins and shortcomings and say, “That’s me.”

But when Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” I don’t find myself saying “That’s me” at all, and I don’t expect you do either.

Seeing God

Then Jesus ties “Blessed are the pure in heart,” to a second thing that seems equally impossible: “for they shall see God!”

In the Old Testament, Moses wanted to see the glory of God, so God told him to hide in a rock. God’s presence would pass by, but Moses would only be allowed to see the after burn of God’s glory.

God said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Yet here Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

The apparent impossibility of these two things: Seeing God and purity of heart, show us how great a Saviour Jesus Christ is. Christ does not give us the Beatitudes to mock us. He comes as the great Redeemer, the Rescuer, the Saviour, holding this wonderful promise in his hands:

• In Christ, a sinner with all the baggage that sinful habits leave in your thoughts, your feelings and your desires, can become pure in heart!
• In Christ, a sinner who is forgiven, washed, cleansed and renewed should see God and, instead of shrinking back into an everlasting hell, should move forward into the embrace of everlasting love!

This is what Christ is able to do for sinners. This is what Christ is able to do for you: He can purify your heart. He can shine into your heart “to give you the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

“For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

When we read this Beatitude, the first thought is, “That looks impossible,” and the second thought is, “If I could lay hold of all that Christ promises here and make it my own, I would be greatly blessed.”

Again, we have two sermons to reflect on and seek to immerse ourselves in all that Christ says to us here. Following our usual pattern, we will focus today on grasping what Christ says, and then look next time at how we can pursue this calling, so that in this life and in the life to come, we might be someone who truly sees God.

What purity of heart is not

Purity of heart does not mean that you never have a bad thought. The apostle John says to that if we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”. (1 John 1:8-10)

Christians in this life are always sinners in the process of recovery. So, if purity of heart meant that you never have a bad thought, it would be beyond the range of Christian experience. Purity of heart is not sinlessness of life.

Purity in the Bible

The Bible speaks about purity or holiness in different ways, and it is important for our understanding of the Christian life to distinguish between them.

There is the purity or holiness that belongs to God alone

In the presence of God, the holy angels, who have never sinned, cover their faces and cry out “Holy, holy, holy”.

“And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; and the whole earth is full of His glory”. (Isaiah 6:3)

It isn’t enough, in the immediate presence of the Almighty, for the angels to say “God is holy.” Why do they say it three times? The angels are holy, but God is incomparable in His purity. His holiness is the source of their holiness.

Like the angels, we will reflect the holiness of God forever, as the moon reflects the light of the sun. But the light of holiness is God’s alone, and any holiness in you or me comes from Him.

There is a purity or holiness that will be ours in heaven

When He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure”. (1 John 3:2-3)

In the presence of Jesus, you will have a purity that is like pure gold, a holiness that is unmixed. There will not be a trace of sin in you, on you, or around you.

There is a purity or holiness that God calls us to pursue now

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Thomas Watson describes this as “Purity in a gospel sense”. The Christian’s purity in this life is like gold mixed with dross: This mixture, God calls purity in a gospel sense, as a face may be said to be fair which has some freckles in it.

There is a real purity in the heart of a believer, but it is mixed. It is real gold, but it is mixed with dross. Where there is a longing for purity and a loathing of our impurity, there is purity of heart.

What is “Purity of Heart”?

Purity of heart does not mean sinlessness of life. What then does it mean? Two things: A heart that is undivided, A heart that is clean.

The blessing of an undivided heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart…” (Matthew 5:8)

Blessed is the man or woman whose heart is undivided. Our Lord returns to this theme later on in the Sermon on the Mount:

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single; thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Matthew 6:22 KJV)

The ESV says, “If your eye be healthy…”  The NIV says, “If your eye is good.” The sense of the word has to do with wholeness, but the word “single” is really helpful. It has the idea of going after one thing.

The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, is often quoted on this. He wrote a book on purity called; “Purity of heart is to will one thing”

This is very helpful, and it tells us that the opposite of a pure heart is a divided heart. Like Elijah standing on Mount Carmel, challenging the people: “How long will you go on limping between two opinions?”

In other words: How long will you go on trying to embrace Christ and the world at the same time? How long will you continue toying with the same sins: Never giving yourself to them wholly, but never giving yourself to Christ wholly either? Purity of heart is to will one thing:

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8)

In the book Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan has a character called, “Mr. Facing Both Ways.” We know immediately what that is. Paul gives us a commentary on purity of heart:

“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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

Philippians 3 is an exposition on purity of heart: Purity of heart is not perfection: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect…” Purity of heart is to will one thing: “One thing I do… I press on to take hold of the high calling for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

When Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” He is saying, “Blessed is the person whose heart is undivided.” There’s a great prayer for purity in the book of Psalms:

“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name” (Psalms 86:11)

Here’s this heart and it is all over the place, and I’m asking You to make it one, unite my heart, to make me a person who pursues one thing. That’s the blessing of purity!

The blessing of a clean heart

In the Bible’s terms, when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, faith forms the bond of a living union in which Christ becomes yours and you become His. You are “in Christ” and Christ is in you.

Gifts that become yours through faith in Christ

Justification (legal):

Justification means that God drops all charges against you. The reason, believer, that you will enter heaven, is not that you are without sin, because none of us ever is. The reason that Christians enter heaven is that God does not charge their sins against them.

Why? God charges our sins to the account of Jesus, in whom these sins were judged, punished, and atoned for through His sacrifice as our sin bearer on the cross:

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

In Christ your debts have been paid in full, so that they will not and cannot be charged to you on the last day. That is the spectacular truth of justification:

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)

Christians enter heaven on the basis of mercy, but also on the basis of justice! A just God cannot demand payment for sins that have been atoned for! A just God will not call in a debt that has already been paid. John says:

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

Why does John bring in the word “just,”? Because he is thinking about the atonement. Justification is a marvellous legal gift, it is our confidence before God in life and death and on entering into heaven: My salvation rests on the character of God who is just, and it is sealed by the blood of Christ, my Saviour!

Forgiveness (relational):

In Christ, God reconciles you to Himself. When God justifies, he also forgives, and reconciles us to Himself in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18). He never does one without the other. This is a spectacular blessing. Think about it; you were an enemy of God; now He makes you His friend!

Your blood has washed away my sins, Jesus, thank you! The Father’s wrath completely satisfied, Jesus, thank You! Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table, Jesus, thank you!

We looked at this marvellous subject of forgiveness in the last Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful,” and we saw that God forgives when repentance begins. Why? Forgiveness is relational and therefore it is both given and received.

Love can be one sided. You can love a person who does not love you back. When Jesus says, “Love your enemies,” it is a one-sided thing. Your enemies certainly don’t love you!

Love can be one directional, but verbal forgiveness is always relational. Two parties are involved. One forgives; the other is forgiven, and out of this a relationship is restored.

This is the grace of God to you in Jesus Christ: He forgives all your sins. He puts them out of mind, out of sight. To all who are in Christ, He says, “Your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17). The prophet Micah puts it this way:

 “He will again have compassion on us, He will thread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19)

And as an old preacher once said about this: “God casts our sins into the depth of the sea, and he puts up a sign that says, ‘No Fishing!’”

Cleansing (personal):

In Christ, God washes your heart and your life.

Right now, your car might be filthy and needs to be washed. You get it to the carwash on Monday, but by next weekend, the same car will need washing again.

The car picks up dirt from the road, and it needs to be washed on a regular basis. I have never seen a car of which this is not true. Even if your car is a super expensive one, it still needs to be washed.

It’s the same with clothes. You can buy clothes that don’t need to be ironed. But have you ever seen clothes that don’t need to be washed? No! Every week a new pile of dirty clothes is ready to be thrown in the wash.

Every evening and morning I get in the shower. Why do I do that in the morning? I haven’t been wading through a swamp or rolling in the mud.  I’ve just been asleep for the night, but when I wake up, I’m aware of my need to be washed.

Justification happens once. It is a legal standing before God. Reconciliation with God happens once as we repent and are forgiven. It does not need to be repeated. What happens when I sin? In Christ, I am a friend of God, and I do not become His enemy every time I sin.

But cleansing is different. I need this on a continuing basis. However much I progress in the Christian life, I never get beyond the need of it.

Now, I want to remind you of a well-known verse of the Bible that brings together the three priceless gifts of justification, forgiveness and cleansing:

“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)

In Christ, God justifies. In Christ, He forgives. In Christ, He cleanses.

I want us to grasp the power of Christ to cleanse. He is faithful to cleanse. You can trust Him to cleanse. He has the ability to purify your heart and your life. Faith in Christ is confidence in His ability to justify, forgive and cleanse through the power of His shed blood. That’s what faith is.

Christ is able to cancel all the charges that would otherwise condemn us to an eternal hell. He is able, as the God-man to reconcile us to the Father. He is able to cleanse the heart that’s become captive to greed and lust and pride and any other sin of habit or compulsion that you may care to name.

You also must have met many people over the years who would say that they are Christians. They believe in a Christ who forgives, but they do not believe in a Christ who is able to wash and to cleanse. They say: “I have baggage. I have seen things I should not have seen. I’ve done things I should not have done, creating habits and appetites in my soul.  My thinking, feeling and desiring are all messed up.”

There are patterns of twisted thinking, and there are patterns of compulsive behaviour. They would tell you, “These things are in me, and I cannot imagine them ever being changed.”

Here’s my challenge to you: I want you to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will say, “Oh, I do!” And I will say to you, “No you do not.”

As long as you resist in believing, nothing can be done about the baggage in your mind and heart, because you do not yet believe in the Christ of the Bible.

You may say that you believe in a Jesus who forgives, but you do not yet know the Christ of the Bible, the Son of God, who washes, cleanses, and purifies messed up human minds and hearts.

Christ offers more than forgiveness! You shall call His Name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins! He came to deal with habits, compulsions, engrained patterns of thought and behaviour.

Christ came not only to justify but also to sanctify a people for Himself. He came, not only to forgive your sins, but to make you holy, because without holiness no one will see the Lord!

The Bible says that God saves us through the washing of regeneration. He saved us according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:4-5)

Christ is able to wash your mind. He is able to regenerate your heart. That means He is able to give you a new inclination, a new disposition, a new interest, new affections, new energy, a new life!

When Christ washes your heart, here’s what you will begin to experience over time; you will begin to hate what you used to love and love what you used to hate. You never had a prayer life, an interest in reading the Bible. You came to worship, but it was all outside of you.

A stepping stone to faith

I want to speak especially to the person who feels that the baggage they carry is so great, the mind and the heart has become so twisted, that you cannot really imagine ever being whole again.

Trusting Christ to cleanse you seems further way than you are able to stretch right now. You may believe that He could forgive you, but deep in your heart you can’t ever see yourself being different. The desires of your heart are all messed up and you can’t imagine your own heart being clean.

Allow me to give you a stepping stone to faith. Actually, what I am going to describe is where faith begins. The beginning of faith is to say: “If I was in Christ, and He was in me, I believe He could make this heart clean.” I’m inviting you to take your stand there today.

If you feel that you cannot yet trust Christ to cleanse you, I invite you to take this first step today. Believe that He could make your heart clean.

It would be a miracle, but remember He changed the hearts of other people. God changed the apostle Paul’s blasphemous and murderous heart. If He did it for me, He will do it for you!

Believe this: If the power by which Jesus was raised from the dead were to work in you, your heart could be made clean.

Settle that in your mind.  Write it down: “My heart could be made clean. I believe that if I was in Christ, and He was in me, He could make me clean.”

Then write down some Scriptures that give you reason for this confidence. Titus 3:5 should be one of them: God saves by washing of regeneration. If that should happen to me, I would be clean.

Matthew 1:21 would be another: “You shall call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”

1 John 1:9 will be another: “God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I believe that if He cleansed me, I would be clean.

Settle this conviction, this conclusion, in your mind and in your heart, and then when it is settled that you believe He could do it, take the next step and ask Him to do it for you.

Please pray with me:

Lord Jesus, I have come to believe that if I was in You and You were in me, You could wash this heart and make me clean. Now come to this twisted mind, this divided heart, and do Your redeeming work in me.  Wash me, cleanse me, and purify my heart through Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Sunday, 21 June 2020

Ps Ben Hooman

We are looking today at the subject of forgiveness. To forgive a person who has hurt you deeply may be the greatest challenge you ever face and the greatest gift you ever give.

We began this morning looking at the fifth Beatitude:

“Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7)

We looked at what that means, and today we come to the question: How? How can I become a more merciful person? How can I become a more forgiving person? How can I cultivate more of this good fruit in my life?

I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who did not want to forgive. So, all of us know something about the struggle of forgiveness. I’m going to use the word “forgiveness” today, and it’s important to understand the relationship between forgiveness and mercy. Mercy is broader than forgiveness. Forgiveness goes further than mercy.

Mercy is broader than forgiveness. The good Samaritan had no need to forgive the man who was lying in the road. The wounded man had not wronged the Samaritan in any way. So, mercy is broader than forgiveness.

Forgiveness goes further than mercy. Suppose someone hurts you, wrongs you, harms you, to be merciful means you have compassion on them. You have a tender heart towards them. Rather than return harm to them, you seek to do them good.

“Do not repay evil for evil, but rather overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)

That’s mercy, and forgiveness arises out of mercy. But forgiveness goes further, because it involves restoring a relationship. So, mercy is the path that leads to forgiveness.

Many people struggle with forgiveness. If a great wrong has been done to you, and it is so severe that it seems to you that forgiveness is impossible, and it is a mountain that you cannot climb. You may find yourself saying, “Forgiving sounds wonderful, but I have no idea how to get there.”

That’s what this message is about. We want to look from the Bible the path that leads to forgiveness. Follow mercy and you will get to forgiveness. But before we get there:

Forgiveness is a fruit of life in Christ who forgives

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

Someone might say, “It sounds like forgiving other people is a means to an end.” Is Jesus saying, “If we forgive others, God will forgive us?”  God’s forgiveness is never a reward for something we have done. It cannot be, because God forgives us freely.

Remember, the Beatitudes are not telling you how to become a Christian. They tell you what a true Christian looks like. They are not a map that says, “Go this way and you will get to a place where God forgives you.”

They are not a map; they are a mirror that says, “Look at yourself and see if you have the marks of someone who has been forgiven.” Here’s the mark: Forgiven people are known by the way they forgive.

This is a distinguishing mark of all who are in Christ, which is why the Lord teaches us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12).

How and When God Forgives

Think for a moment about how and when God forgives. God forgives:

• where wrong has been done
• when repentance begins
• because atonement has been made.

God forgives where wrong has been done

If I were to say to you, “I forgive you,” you would reasonably say, “Whatever for? I haven’t done anything for you to forgive!” Forgiveness is only appropriate and it is only meaningful when a wrong has been done.

When God forgives us, it means we’ve wronged Him. Every sin in your life and mine is a personal offence against God. Saul of Tarsus was on a campaign in which he hurt people, and the risen Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

Lewis Smedes says, “Forgiveness always comes with blame attached.” Forgiveness can only happen when a wrong has been done. We have wronged God. Thank God, He forgives.

God forgives where wrong has been done, when repentance begins

The story of the prodigal son makes this clear. The son goes off on a journey of rebellion, and when he comes to his senses, he says to himself, “I will go to my father.”

The boy has a change of heart, and he begins the long journey home. He isn’t expecting much. He hopes that perhaps the father might take him on as a hired servant.

Remember what happens: The father sees him from a distance and runs out to meet him. Rather than wait, he runs to him. Why? God embraces us with mercy and forgiveness at the first sign of repentance.

Repenting is a process that every believer begins, but none of us completes in this life. Our repentance towards God is at best a small part of what it should be. Thank God, he forgives when our repentance begins, not when it is complete. Without this none of us would ever be forgiven.

Is there forgiveness without repentance?

It is important for us at this point to understand that there are different views on forgiveness. Some promote unconditional forgiveness and others say that forgiveness without repentance is not possible.

Some will refer to Colossians 3:13 but need to be read in context:

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate heats, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:12-15)

Note that it refers one believer having a complaint against another believer, and therefore it has two parties together where forgiveness takes place, and it comes from a condition of the heart.

Some will refer to Ephesians 4:32, but again it asks for context here where the apostle Paul speaks about this new life in Christ:

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another… Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25, 30-31)

Again, the context of two parties together within a group of believers. The apostle first addresses the condition of the heart. Note also how this forgiving is done, the same as Jesus forgives us. Did Jesus forgive us unconditionally or did it ask for repentance and forgiveness flows out of His character of grace, love and mercy that comes freely because of the redemption that was unconditional. Can we say there is a distinct difference in to forgive and forgiveness?

To people who rejected Him, Jesus said, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sin” (John 8:21). The Bible never suggests that whatever we do, it will all be right for us in the end.

There is no forgiveness without repentance. Forgiveness is a priceless gift. It should always be placed by the one who forgives directly into the hand of the one who needs to be forgiven. It should be released where it will be received, but it should not be allowed to fall to the ground.

Jesus said: “Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you” (Matthew 7:6). This is important when we come to the question: How can I forgive someone who isn’t even sorry for what they have done? They don’t even recognize what they’ve done. They’ve taken no responsibility.

God does not forgive unrepentant sinners. He loves them, and that is what He calls us to do, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.”

Why does He say that? Because that’s the way God loves sinners. God does not say, “Forgive your enemies.” He says, “Love them. Pray for them.” Because that is what God Himself does. He laid down His life for us while we were yet sinners.

“but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

You may say, “That sounds like arguing about words.” No, it is protecting the sacred truth that where there is forgiveness a relationship is restored.

You often hear Christians talk about “forgiving the unrepentant person.” They say “You must do it for your own sake, so your life is not controlled by another person.”

But in asking you to forgive the unrepentant person, they’re asking you to do something that God Himself never does, and in the process, they’re changing the nature of what repentance is. God’s forgiveness always effects a restored relationship.

Forgiveness involves the reconciling of two people; one who repents and the other who forgives. I believe that it might be great mistake to tell people that they must forgive where there is no repentance.

God forgives at the first sign of our repentance, and where forgiveness and repentance meet a relationship is restored. He does not say to us “Forgive your enemies.” He says to us, “Love your enemies.”

But that does not prevent us to show mercy, and to pray for them and to love them. The way you react is an expression of the condition of your heart. “Lord show me why I allow this to contaminate me, allowing it to effect the purity of my heart. I repent for allowing it and I ask you to forgive me for it”.

God forgives where wrong has been done, when repentance begins, because atonement has been made

There is a sense in which God is the only being in the universe who cannot forgive. For us who are sinners, it is reasonable to be indulgent, lenient, and forgiving towards others whose wrongs may not be very different from our own.

But God is holy. God sees sin in all the ugliness that it is. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Every time someone says, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself,” I want to ask: “Are you saying that it’s easier for God to forgive you, than it is for you to forgive yourself?”

James Denny says: If there should turn out, after all, to be such a thing as a Divine forgiveness of sins, we may be sure it will be such a forgiveness as carries the Divine condemnation and destruction of sin at the heart of it.

That is precisely what we find at the cross. God’s forgiveness flows from the destruction and condemnation of sin in the atoning death of His Son, Jesus Christ, as He bore our sins at Calvary.

Whenever there is an injury, there will always be something in the human spirit that cries out, “What about justice?” The Christian answer is that justice has been poured out on Jesus.

The cross makes forgiveness possible. God forgives where wrong has been done, when repentance begins, because atonement has been made.

Now this leads to our central question:

How can I get to forgiveness?

Imagine standing right next to a hurdle on a race track. You are right up against it. You can’t jump a hurdle from a standing start. It’s impossible. It can’t be done. You have to take a run at it.

This is one of the most important things to have learned about the Christian life, and it is at the heart of this series. All progress in the Christian life is made by the momentum of our spiritual health.

Satan can get us so focused on one sin, one problem, one issue that we want to overcome. How do I get over my fear? How can I prevail over this lust? There you are, standing right next to the hurdle, and you can’t get over from that position. You have to begin further back, so you can get a run at it and get some momentum.

We have been learning this principle from the Beatitudes. You can’t begin with forgiving other people. You have to go back and begin with your own need to be forgiven. How’s that relevant? The very beginning is seeing my own need of forgiveness.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”

Start mourning your own sins and you will be on the way to forgiving the sins of others.

As we began to reflect on what the Bible says about getting to the place where you can forgive, we realized that everything we need to know is brought together in Ephesians 4. The forgiveness is in verse 32, and how you get there begins in verse 30. These verses give us six strides towards forgiveness.

Six Strides Toward Forgiveness

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:30-32)

Remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

“…the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed.” (Ephesians 4:30)

Progress towards forgiveness begins here: The Spirit of God lives in you. You may have experienced hurts and wounds that are incredibly hard to forgive, hurts that we know nothing about, hurts that are deeper than anything many ever experienced. Here’s what you need to know: No one has had more to forgive than God.

Think how much God has had to forgive: Every sin you have ever committed is a sin against Him. Each of these sins played a part in the awful suffering of God’s Son. That is true, not only of your sins, but of every sin of every believer who has ever lived.

Think how much God has had to forgive, and He has done it! And His Spirit lives in you!! When you look at an offense, and forgiveness seems impossible, take a step back, get some distance, and begin your run here.

Don’t dwell on the injury

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31)

Bitterness, wrath and anger all come from nursing a grievance. Someone has wronged you, and your mind keeps going over it, and over it, and over it again. All of us know about this in our own experience.

You keep thinking about it; how wrong it was, how hurtful it is. But every time you think about it, you are stoking a fire within your own soul of anger and bitterness.

Bitterness and anger are fires that need to be fed. Stop feeding them. When your mind goes back to that stuff, say to yourself, “There are better things to fill my mind with than this.”

With the help of the Holy Spirit, set your mind on something else, set it on whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise. You have the power to do this if you are a Christian because God’s Spirit lives in you.

Don’t fight and quarrel

“Let… clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31)

When a relationship is in trouble, fighting and quarrelling over who did what, or who said what, can make it worse. “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel” (2 Timothy 2:24). Quarrelling stokes the fire of bitterness and anger, putting you further from the forgiveness you’re trying to cultivate.

Put clamor and slander away from you: Do not sit at the breakfast table, or go around talking to other people, about what that person has done or about what a terrible person he or she is.

Put away all malice: Malice is the desire that the person who hurt you will get what they deserve.

These are the negatives, and they are very important. There are certain things that make forgiveness impossible. If you keep doing them you will not be able to forgive.

Have compassion on the one who has hurt you

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted…” (Ephesians 4:32)

This is especially important with a person who has wronged you and still has no idea what he or she has done. They’re completely unrepentant and they have not taken ownership. They have no sense of responsibility. They’re blind to what they’re doing, and to the pain they’re causing.

Well, if this person is blind, then you should have pity. When you see a person walking on the street who’s completely blind, do you want to run up and kick their walking stick away? No!

Jesus became the merciful, tender hearted, compassionate High Priest He is through what He suffered (Hebrews 2:17). That means suffering can produce hardness of heart, but it can also produce great tenderness! Pain made Him the kind of High Priest that you can come to.

If you have experienced great pain through the sins of another person, if something can hurt this much, then use your pain as fuel for compassion.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were… like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). They didn’t even know they were lost! The person who has sinned against you may be just like that. Be kind to one another, tender hearted.

Realize that you will need the forgiveness of others

“Forgiving one another…” (Ephesians 4:32)

God does not tell us here that we should forgive someone who has hurt us. He says that we should forgive one another. What does that tell us? There will be things that you need to forgive in others, and you can be absolutely certain that there will be things that others need to forgive in you.

Here’s something that you will find to be true: It is impossible to say from the heart “Lord, have mercy on me,” and at the same, to refuse mercy to another person in your heart. Realizing your own need of continuing forgiveness will help you to take another stride towards forgiving.

Savour your forgiveness in Christ

“Forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you…” (Ephesians 4:32)

God’s forgiveness is both the model of our forgiving and the motive of our forgiving. So, the apostle Paul draws our attention to the way in which we have been forgiven by God.

Think about how God has forgiven you. Turn this over in your mind. God has forgiven me in Christ. He did it gladly, freely and fully. This forgiveness is undeserved, it is irreversible, and it is eternal.

God has forgiven me in love and mercy, out of an agony of heart, shrouded in darkness at Calvary, and I will never fully understand that pain, even in all eternity.

Savour your forgiveness in Christ. Appreciate it. Enjoy it. Let this priceless gift of God that you have received move your heart to worship, wonder, love and praise. Forgive one another as God in Christ forgave you.

Practice the six strides and your seventh will take you over the hurdle of forgiveness

Here’s what you do with regard to a person who has hurt you badly, and is completely unaware of what he or she has done: Take these six strides on the path of mercy, and you will be ready at any moment to forgive.

Forgiveness will already be in your freed heart, ready to be released. You will be ready to place it in the hands of the one who has wronged you when he or she is ready to receive the gift.

And this is how Jesus Christ is towards you today: Ready to forgive whatever in your life needs to be forgiven. He is kind and tender-hearted. He has compassion on you. His nail-pierced hands are stretched out towards you today. Whatever you see that needs to be forgiven, He is ready to forgive as you come to Him.

If you believe that this is true, why would you not come to Him in repentance today?

Let us pray:

Father God, use Your Word as poured out into the wounds of hurting hearts, that we may take great strides on the path of mercy that leads to forgiveness. It is our Lord Jesus Christ that made forgiveness possible and as we come to Him in repentance we are forgiven and in Him we are able to extend love and mercy and prayer to those we believe has wronged us, a mercy that leads to forgiveness. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

https://youtu.be/CreV64YBmsE

Sunday, 21 June 2020

Ps Ben Hooman

Please open your Bible at Matthew 5:7. We are resuming our series in the Beatitudes, these marvelous words of blessing that come directly from the Son of God.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

What the Beatitudes Are and How to Use Them

The Beatitudes describe the distinguishing marks of a true Christian. They are not given to tell us how to become Christians. Christ did not come into the world to give us a formula. He did not come to tell us that if we do certain things, we will receive certain blessings as a result.

The Beatitudes are not telling you how to become a Christian, they are telling you what a true Christian looks like. We are saved by Christ through union with him in his death and resurrection.

How would you recognize a person who has this union with Christ?

The Beatitudes are the distinguishing marks of a true Christian. We are to use the Beatitudes like a mirror. They invite us to examine ourselves. Here are the distinguishing marks a true Christian. Are these the things that are true of me? Are these the things that I am pursuing with all I am?

The Beatitudes are given to us in a particular order

There is a progression in which each one leads to the next, and each comes out of the one that went before. We’ve tried to picture this by thinking about someone doing the monkey swing, in which you reach each ring with the momentum you gained from the last.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3)

Blessed is the person who knows that they do not have what it takes before God. All of us can begin there. All of us must begin there. There is no other place to begin.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4)

When you see that you do not have what God requires of you, you begin to mourn. You see the position you are in and you recognize your own responsibility for it, and you begin to hate the sin that has put you there.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)

We saw that meekness is about becoming “used to the hand,” submitting yourself to the hand of God. When you see your own position before God, you will be ready to submit yourself to God and to ask of Him, “Give me what I do not have.”

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6)

As you submit yourself to Christ, the Holy Spirit will create in you a great desire to be like Him. A longing for holiness will be birthed in you. The Holy Spirit creates a hunger, a desire, a pursuit of righteousness in the life of every true believer.

There is order and progress here. The Beatitudes are like jewels and Christ does not throw them down in a heap. He arranges them in order and strings them together like a beautiful necklace.

We all find this series profoundly challenging, and the further we go, the more challenging it gets. We will often find ourselves falling off and going back to the beginning: “Lord, I don’t have what it takes, be merciful to me. I hate the sin that has prevailed over me. I submit myself to you and long to grow in righteousness…” And off you go again.

Roots-Life-Fruit

We saw that there is a “Roots-Life-Fruit” pattern in these Beatitudes: to be poor in Spirit, to mourn our sins, to end our rebellion and submit ourselves in meekness to God, and these are the roots of a blessed life.

From these roots come the green shoots of new life: a genuine hunger and thirst for God and his righteousness. The pursuit of righteousness is the soul of a godly life. The roots of knowing your need, mourning your sin, and submitting yourself in meekness to God will produce, nourish and sustain a life that goes after righteousness.

The flesh can never produce this. But where the roots of God’s redeeming work are planted in a soul, this life begins to grow. And from this life comes wonderful fruit: mercy, purity and peace.

Think what your life would be like if there was a bumper crop of mercy, purity and peace in your soul. How blessed you would be if the heart that is often angry would soften with compassion and, being filled with mercy, you were finally able to forgive?

How blessed you would be if the heart that has so often been divided, causing you to fall into the same sins time and time again, would become one? That’s what purity is. How blessed you would be if there was a bumper crop of purity in your heart?

How blessed you would be if there was a bumper crop of peace, a peace in your own soul that makes you a peace maker? If you became the kind of person who has peace abounding in you, so that wherever you go you bring peace into the lives of others.

If you are a Christian at all, then just to describe these things, is to desire them: “Lord, these are the things I seek in my life!”

We will look at the fifth beatitude over two sermons. Today, we ask the question: To what is Christ calling us? Next time we ask: How can we have more of this in our lives?

What Mercy Is and Why It Matters

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

The place to begin in understanding mercy is with the Good Samaritan. We know the story: A man on a journey is attacked, robbed, beaten and left for dead. Another traveller comes along. He sees the man in his need but passes by on the other side. Sometime later another traveller comes to the same spot. He sees the need but he also passes by. Then Jesus says,

“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine” (Luke 10:33-34).

At the end of the story Jesus asks:

“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

This is a parable about mercy, and Jesus says mercy has two parts: First, there is a tenderness of heart: “When he saw him, he had compassion”. Second, there is action: “He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine”.

Mercy is the character of God

“The Lord passes before him and proclaimed, ‘the LORD, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6)

When God appeared to Moses at Sinai, He revealed Himself in this four-fold description that is repeated seven times in the Old Testament. This is your God in His four-fold glory and beauty: Gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Here is what redeemed people most need to know about God: He has a tender heart that cares and acts for your good.

The rest of the Bible takes up this same theme. God is not only merciful, he is “rich in mercy”:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us,” (Ephesians 2:4).

His mercy is “forever,” so that David is able to say:

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6).

It is because of God’s mercy that we are saved. “He saved us… according to His own mercy” (Titus 3:5). When Paul describes his salvation he simply says: Even though I was the first among sinners, yet “I received mercy” (1 Timothy 1:13).

The book of Hebrews zooms in especially on the mercy of Christ:

“Therefore He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”” (Hebrews 2:17).

Think about the mercy of Jesus to Peter: “The rooster will not crow till you have denied Me three times” (John 13:38). “Peter, you are going to fail in spectacular fashion. It will be the mother of all mess-ups. It will leave you wondering “How in the world did I end up doing that?”

Jesus says, “Satan wants to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail” (Luke 22:31). Peter’s faith did not fail but his testimony failed. He denied Christ, but his faith could not live with his denial.

Peter’s faith produced repentance and he say to Christ, “Lord, you know that I love you.” And Christ says to him, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Mercy means that failure need not have the last word.

In Jesus Christ, God says to His people:

“I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12).

When you know that Christ is our merciful High Priest, you will come to Him:

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16)

Think about the mercy of Jesus to Thomas. Here’s this man in spiritual leadership. He is an apostle, but his own faith is not in good shape. The unanswered questions are piling up for him, and in his heart, he must have felt that he was slipping away.

Christ never lets his children go. Christ comes to Thomas: “Put your finger in the nail prints. Put your fist in My side. Stop doubting and believe.

The risen Christ can draw near to you today and bring you, like Thomas, to a place where, in a whole new way, you will look up to Him and say, “My Lord and my God!”

Mercy is God’s calling to us

The whole point of the Christian life is that the character of Jesus will be reproduced in all of our lives. God multiplies the image that He loves, so that Christ will be the first born of many brothers and sisters.

That means a community of brothers and sisters who have a tender heart that cares and acts for the good of others. This is our calling:

“He has told you, O man, what is good; does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  (Micah 6:8 NIV)

You won’t find a clearer description of our calling. And to some leaders who misunderstood what God requires of us, Jesus said:

“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. ’For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:13)

Think of the difference that one teacher who is merciful can make in a school, one teacher with a tender heart who cares and acts for the good of the children and the other staff, and for those in the administration.

Think of the difference in a business or a church or a family when there’s one person with a tender heart who cares and acts for the good of others.

Where and how can I be merciful? What would this look like?

Seven Opportunities for Manifesting Mercy

You will be saying, “Surely he is not beginning a list of seven things at this stage in the message!” Let me assure you, the end is near! I want you to be looking for opportunities to show mercy this week.

Material needs

“If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17)

A believer opens his heart to a believer in need and does something to help him. Sinclair Ferguson says: Mercy is getting down on your hands and knees and doing something to restore dignity to someone whose life has been broken by sin.

Spiritual struggles

“And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 22-23)

God calls us to have a tender heart towards brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling in their faith. Have mercy on those who doubt.

Warren Wiersbe once said; If he could have his time over again, he would “do more to encourage God’s people.” Lord, save me from being hard and demanding. Make me tender towards others, sensitive to the loads they bear, and faithful in bringing help, as Christ is faithful to me.

Christ does not break the bruised reed. He will not snuff out a smouldering wick. David captures the mercy of God when he says, “Your gentleness has made me great” (Psalm 18:35).

Embarrassing failures

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

Some things should not be covered up. Peter speaks about sins, not crimes, and there’s an important difference. But there are a multitude of sins a merciful person will be glad to cover up. Spurgeon says: I recommend you, brothers and sisters, always to have one blind eye and one deaf ear.

Notice its only one! In this sinful world you need to have one eye that sees and one ear that hears. But Spurgeon says: My blind eye is the best eye that I have, and my deaf ear is the best ear I have.

A hard heart always makes a big deal of another person’s failure, but a tender heart, a merciful heart, often uses the blind eye and the deaf ear!

God does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. He is merciful. And love covers over a multitude of sins. Look for opportunities to do that this week.

Slanderous gossip

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Satan is the father of lies. He is always manufacturing rumours that would make a person think less of someone who is their brother or sister in Christ. Some Christians seem to be adept at helping him!

Remember this: It is as bad to believe a lie as it as to tell one. It is as bad to repeat a lie as it is to invent one. There is a harshness in our culture (and too often it is creeping into the church) that is quick to believe the worst about a person, and slow to think the best.

It is so easy to slide into making much of other people’s failures and little of their strengths and virtues. A merciful person goes the other way; he or she will make more of a person’s virtues than their failures. A merciful person will close his ears to slander unless he’s compelled to do otherwise.

Thomas Watson says: A man’s name is worth more than his goods, and, he that takes away the good name of another, sins more than if he had taken the corn out of his field or the goods out of his shop. The receiver of stolen goods is as bad as the thief. We must not only raise a false report, but not take it up. You, who take away the good name of another, wound him in that which is most dear to him. Better take away a man’s life than his name. It is an irreparable injury; something will remain.

Unreasonable expectations

“For He [God] knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:14)

I must remember this in relation to others. I must not set unreasonable expectations of my spouse, my children or of others who work with me. I must learn not to be surprised by discouragements and disappointments.

I must get beyond thinking that a person will be a consistent paragon of virtue simply because he or she is a Christian. I must think more about the weights and burdens others may carry, and the strength of temptations they may face. I must remember, as God remembers about me, that they are dust.

Personal injuries

“Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

If someone has hurt you, injured you, or wronged you in some way, don’t be surprised if at some point God puts you in a position when you have the opportunity to get your own back.

That’s what happened to Joseph. His brothers wronged him terribly, but God blessed him. He became the Prime Minister of Egypt, next to Pharaoh himself. One day, the brothers needed food and they came to Egypt, and Joseph had them in his power.

Now, what you do at that moment will be the most revealing thing about you. Joseph forgave his brothers. That’s what mercy does.

Lost souls

“Save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear.” (Jude 23)

If you have mercy in your heart, you will speak to Christ about lost people and you will speak to lost people about Christ. Augustine said: If I weep for the body from which the soul is departed. How should I weep for the soul from which God is departed?

A tender heart that cares and acts for the good of others will care deeply about people without Christ, and will act by sharing the Gospel with them.

Spurgeon says: There are some Christians who do not seem to have much zeal for the conversion of others, and are quite content to sit down or to stand idle believing that the decrees and purposes of God will be fulfilled. So they will, brethren, but it will be through warm-hearted Christians who bring others to Jesus, It will be by the one who is saved telling of salvation to another, and that other to a third, and so on till the sacred fire spreads, until the earth shall be girdled with its flame.

The Lord Jesus Christ stands before you and reaches out to you in mercy today! His tender heart cares for you, and He is ready to do you good. You need have no fear in coming to Jesus Christ today.

You may have messed up like Peter or like the prodigal son. You may feel beaten and bruised like the man on the Jericho road, and now you find it hard to let anyone come near you. If someone comes over, you think they are going to beat you again.

You need have no fear of Jesus. He is the merciful High Priest. He has seen human life from the inside. He knows what it is to be beaten and bruised Himself. He cares for you and He stands ready to do good for you today.

This is a Christ to whom you can come. And this is a Christ in whom you can trust. His mercy is not for a moment, but for a lifetime.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

And those who know Him are able to say:

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

Let us pray:

For this mercy we give You all glory O Lord as we lift our hearts to You in thankfulness. Your steadfastness never ends, and Your mercies endure forever, new it is every morning and great is your faithfulness. Father thank You for our Lord Jesus Christ that has reconciled us with You, and therefore we can say that we dwell in the house of the Lord forever. All glory and honor to you and in Jesus mighty and worthy Name we pray, Amen