GREAT PROMISES FROM THE PROPHET JEREMIAH #1 - Jeremiah 29:1-14 "For I know the plans that I have for you!"

Great Promises  from the  Prophecy of Jeremiah  #1  :  

“For I know the plans I have for you ... plans for welfare  and  not for evil, to give you a future and a hope… You will seek me and find me , when you seek me with all your heart …”   

 [Jer.  29: 1-14]

I am thinking of  a number  of   reasons  for preaching  from the book  of Jeremiah  during this month of prayer and in  preparation for 2017. Here  are some...

1.     Jeremiah  gives perspective and encouragement in  spiritually  challenging times, and we need  such insight today.

2.      There are a number of  wonderful texts  and promises in Jeremiah, such as this one in verse 11,12 which are quoted  easily  out of context. We do not want to minimize the joy and comfort that this texts brings, but we do want to use them  thoughtfully and responsibly, combining the text   with our own situation, as the Word of God is applicable to all  ages.

3.     We  find ourselves at the beginning of a new year.  The future is always daunting, and we always need to  trust the LORD  for that  which is to come. As for myself,   I am commencing my 28^th year  with you. My desire,  as always, is to enter  into this year  thoughtfully and prayerfully, knowing myself to be in the hands of  a Sovereign God who knows what He is doing.  May the message of Jeremiah contribute  to that  understanding.

CONTEXT 

In Chapters 29-31, we find a series of messages to the Jews  who  were carried  into  exile  in Babylon, under the rule of  King Nebuchadnezzar,  around the date  586 BC.  Whilst this is not a happy situation, God has a message of hope  to His people who are in exile.  God’s ultimate purpose is to bring them  back  in to their land.  He  assures them that  He continues  to  love them  with an everlasting love (31:3), but the demonstrations  of  true love  can sometimes be tough.     So, Chapter 29 is a chapter in which God says some hard,realistic but loving things by  way of a letter written by Jeremiah  to His  beloved people in exile. Jeremiah  has to remind them that they are in Babylon, a place not of their choice,  by God’s design, and that this design was  meant for their good.

Vv.1-3    This is  a letter  from God   by the hand of  Jeremiah from Jerusalem to the exiles in Babylon. 

Vv. 4-23  contain  the message of the letter. The message in essence was that  the Jews   would be serving  a 70 year exile  in  Babylon (v.10), and   God wanted them settle down in this time, and   to stop living in the past. He wanted  them to lead  productive lives : “Build houses… plant gardens… marry… have children… increase and do not decrease…”.  God  commanded them not to be dissatisfied and militant, but  “to seek the welfare of the city… to pray for it… since in its welfare would be their welfare!” (vv.5-7) Wise words, and utter applicable to us.  For many of us, Windhoek is not our home town, or choice of  city to live in. But we have been placed here by the providence of God. Settle down and  pray for the welfare of  Windhoek, for in its welfare you will find your welfare!     

There  was another matter  to consider. False prophets were trying to deceive  them, making them restless and dissatisfied, telling  them that they  would not be in exile for long and that they  wouldreturn to Jerusalem soon (vv.  8,9).    The problem of false prophets is  a  perpetual problem  for us.  Who is talking to you at this time?  God,  by His Holy Spirit inspired Word,  or  is it your sinful nature/desires or  some false  prophet  talking to you? The rest of the chapter,  from vv. 15 - 31  deals with this scourge of misinformation, which so often  undermines the  godly tranquility and rest  to which God calls His people. 

In  this context  false prophets  cannot stand  the thought of  God sending His people  into a long exile. They do not  like the  thought of  suffering for  the purpose  of sanctification at all. They do not see  the value of the cleansing effects  which  suffering  and trials  under the hand of a  good God can bring. Like the modern  false prophets  they preach that  everyone  deserves  health, wealth and happiness.  In Jeremiah’s own words, they constantly  preach “peace, peace , when  there is no peace” [1]. This certainly is not true  of Jeremiah. As the true prophet of God , he must speak  the Word of the Lord. A key phrase in Jeremiah is  the phrase “the WORD of the LORD came to me”, which is used over 50 times.  The  Word of God  teaches us that God uses suffering in a sanctifying way.

In 1989 John Piper presented a  biographical  paper on the life of Charles Simeon (1759 -1836), an Anglican  Evangelical  pastor,   at the annual  Bethlehem Baptist Church Pastors Conference. In his fifty-four years at Trinity Church, Simeon became a powerful force for evangelicalism in the Anglican church. However for much, if not for most  of his long and effective  ministry, Charles Simeon  endured incredible hostility.  John Piper’s  paper  was entitled “Brothers, we must not mind a little suffering” . This is an excerpt from his paper:

“In April, 1831, Charles Simeon was 71 years old. He had been the pastor of Trinity Church, Cambridge, England, for 49 years. He was asked one afternoon by his friend, Joseph Gurney, how he had surmounted persecution and outlasted all the great prejudice against him in his 49-year ministry. He said to Gurney, "My dear brother, we must not mind a little suffering for Christ's sake. When I am getting through a hedge, if my head and shoulders are safely through, I can bear the pricking of my legs. Let us rejoice in the remembrance that our holy Head has surmounted all His suffering and triumphed over death. Let us follow Him patiently; we shall soon be partakers of His victory".[2]  

God’s purpose  for the little suffering that Israel had to endure at this time was never designed for  evil, but for good, and this  thought forms the background to  our text in verses 10 -14 :         

God promises them here that, although they  would not return quickly to their homeland, they would certainly return in time,…  after a 70 year  period.  Now, in the life of a person that is a lifetime. Imagine, having to live a lifetime in a place not of your choice. It naturally begets  discontent, and  so godly men and women have often cried,  “How long, sovereign Lord?”[3] We, in Southern Africa ourselves have lived in a spiritual drought  for  at least 30 years. We have been pummelled by false prophets, and the  spread of  a  pseudo - Christianity  has been alarming. Many sincere Christians  are asking that question, “How long, oh Lord will we have to endure this?”  How long will the true church be scattered and disunited? Martin Luther in his time, saw the Roman Catholic as  a type of Babylon, as He spoke about the Babylonian captivity of the church. The 16^th century Reformation broke the  Roman yoke as many  men and women were led into the  freedom that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ  has brought.

Now, please take note, and take courage. Although  we may sense frustration  with the general state of the church, not being in the place that she should be,  be assured that it will come in God's time, and  be assured  that  will be  the best time- the right time. With regard to the supreme promise of God regarding the coming of a Messiah, to deliver not only  Israel, but the whole world , i.e. all nations from the bondage of  sin, the apostle  Paul said,

“… when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son….” (Gal. 4:4,5);   

“For while we were weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6)  

The promise here  to Israel  in  exile in Babylon, a foreign land  of  foreign customs and foreign religions,  is that  God will  fetch them and bring them back. Though they are dispersed,  among the nations,  God  will gather them from all the places where He has  scattered  them, and He  promises to gather them  and  gather them again into one body.   The supreme  fulfilment of this promise is of course when the whole church, past, present and future  shall be gathered in heaven!

This is God’s promise in v. 10.   This  is in accordance  with God's purposes concerning them in v.11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  God knows the plans  that He has for us. Very often we  do not know our own thoughts. We struggle to understand  and make sense of events that seem to be contradictory  in terms of our understanding of God’s goodness.  Now  we  may be uncertain, but  God is never  unsure or uncertain  within himself.  He, the omniscient, all knowing God knows the beginning from the end for He is the Alpha and Omega.  He knows the way, for He is the Way , the Truth and the Life! Sometimes we doubt whether God’s plans and designs for us are good, but  we must trust God. He knows what He is doing, and we must believe that his designs for us   are  beneficial, even when it seems  that  God's designs are all against us. The fact remains that He says that He does these things for our good and not for evil.  There will be a beneficial outcome in time,  though perhaps not when  we  expect it.  We need to be patient until the fruit is ripe. And this is true  for ourselves. To illustrate, I would like to  quote again  from John Piper’s biography on  the life of Charles Simeon.  

Piper writes …

The most fundamental trial that Simeon had —and that we all have — was himself. He had a somewhat harsh and self-assertive air about him. One day, early in Simeon's ministry, he was visiting Henry Venn, who was pastor 12 miles from Cambridge at Yelling. When he left to go home Venn's daughters complained to their father about his manner. Venn took the girls to the back yard and said, "Pick me one of those peaches." But it was early summer, and "the time of peaches was not yet." They asked why he would want the green, unripe fruit. Venn replied, "Well, my dears, it is green now, and we must wait; but a little more sun, and a few more showers, and the peach will be ripe and sweet. So it is with Mr. Simeon."

We need  to  learn that in God’s economy things take time, and we must always remember that every soul is made for eternity. And even if you do not get  to your  earthly Jerusalem , the city of your dreams in this life , then , if you have  hoped in Christ in this life  you certainly will find it  in the New Jerusalem, where the Lord Jesus has gone now to prepare a place for you.     In  the exercise of His plan, Peter says that  God is not slow   to fulfill His promise (1 Peter 3:9), and if it is  a trial like these Jews underwent in Babylon, or whatever trial  you may find, be assured that this trial will not last forever.  Even death will not separate you from the promises  of God.

This shall be in answer to their prayers  to God. (Jer. 29:12-15. ) In exile, Israel will learn to pray:  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD.  

Matthew Henry’s commentary  upon this is lovely:  

“When God is about to give his people the expected good,  he pours out a spirit of prayer, and it is a good sign that he is coming towards them in mercy. Then, when you see the expected end approaching, then you shall call upon me. Note, Promises are given, not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage prayer: and when deliverance is coming we must by prayer go forth to meet it.

So, let us  enter  2017  prayerfully, fully expecting deliverance  from our  own Babylonian captivity. God, in His goodness sometimes gives  temporary relief on this earth by sending us into a pleasant arbour (Pilgrims Progress), but we always remember that  this earth is not our true home.

In the meantime we settle down, have families, grow gardens  and multiply. We shall be content, knowing that our heavenly Father  is  directing all of  history  and all of the  future to a glorious end. Amen.

---

[1] Jer. 6:14, 8:11

[2] http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/brothers-we-must-not-mind-a-little-suffering

[3] Revelation 6:10 ; Psalm 6:4; 13:1,2

1 Corinthians 2:2 The RESOLUTION behind all New Years Resolutions !

Have you  made any   New Years resolutions?  Ought you to make new years resolutions?  Whatever your  opinions are regarding this matter, there is, I believe much merit  in thinking carefully and prayerfully  about the year ahead.  We, at Eastside Baptist Church  use most of the month of January   to do this,  culminating our  desires and plans   for the year ahead with  a prayer week.

On a more personal level I  also wish to recommend to you  a  helpful set of questions  compiled  by  Don Whitney, which I have been using for a few years now  to  help me to get focused  on the  year ahead. Here are his  first ten diagnostic question:

1.      What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2.      What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3.      What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4.      In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5.      What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6.      What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7.      For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8.      What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9.      What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10.  What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

These are  all very good and relevant questions and  I  want to encourage you and I  to  put these diagnostic questions  to  good work, for we  will surely benefit  much  on a  personal and also  on  a church -corporate level  if we seek to get these things right.

There is one  problem however. We might take these questions  and treat it as a “to do” list, and  use it as an end in itself  and become  legalistic  about it  and in the end,  loose  the joy and the heart  in it all, and worse still, give up  good resolutions such  as these.   What I want to do  with the help of God’s Word therefore  is to  provide you with the most essential  and fundamental motivation to keep good  going!

I will put it to you like this: We need no one less  than  Jesus Himself  to be our Motivator. 

My model for this thought  is the apostle Paul  who  himself had expressed many desires  and  goals  in the writing of His letters. The book of Acts reveals that not all of Paul’s plans  came to fruition e.g.  Acts 16:6ff, where the Holy Spirit  re-directed Paul who was desiring to go to Asia  to go to Macedonia instead. This  re-direction  by the Holy Spirit  led to the conversion of Lydia and of the Philippian jailer  and  the establishment  of the Philippian church. 

What I am saying is this; Paul had goals, ambitions and desires, but these were always subject to  the direction in which God  the Father  and the Holy Spirit and Christ  would direct him. Paul was primarily a slave  or  servant of God. God could change his agenda at any time.    He saw himself as an apostle (messenger)  of God  and Christ,  always led by the Holy Spirit  to  do the work to which Jesus had called him  on the road to Damascus  (Acts 9).

Paul’s  resolutions were  motivated by his deep love for Christ. A classic expression of his love  for Christ is found  in   1 Corinthians 2:1-5, and in particular in verse 2: “For I decided  (NIV “resolved”) to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  

Now whilst this was not Paul’s  new year’s  resolution, it was nevertheless  a fundamental resolution which undergirded his life and  which  therefore his motivated  his actions. This is what  I want you to see.  Underlying our resolutions  is a primary  resolution. It may be  called “our heart’s desire”, and that heart’s desire will determine how   you apply  your new year’s resolutions. Paul’s  one desire was Christ.  See this also in his letter to the Philippians:

·         Phil. 2: 21 ” For me to live is Christ…”

·         Phil. 3:7-11

Paul’s commitment  was   driven by  the  central place that Christ occupied  in His life! That is really the secret to making Christian resolutions that will last.  The rest of the information  contained in our Scripture  reading in  1 Corinthians 2 flows from that  primary resolution! Let us use this  as an illustration  to show how Paul’s love for Jesus moved his resolution to share the gospel in the Corinthian context.

1 Corinthians 2:1–5

Paul reminds them from his first  visit  (Acts 18:1-17), when he planted this church,  on what resolutions  this church was founded! 

First, notice  what Paul did not do in establishing this church:

•          V.1  “ I … did not come proclaiming   to you   the  testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom …”

•          V.4   “my speech and my message  were not in plausible words of wisdom…”. Here he  basically repeats what he had already said in 1:17. 

What is the point that he is trying to make? Well, the Greeks   loved   wisdom …persuasive oratory. They delighted in debate and in speech contests. But Paul is eager to make the  point that the gospel is not  primarily  about human wisdom or pervasive speech.  So, his goal was not to become better trained  as a public speaker in order that he might get through to them and  to be ‘culturally more relevant’.  The gospel of God  is about something far greater! Do  think that Paul did not have reasoning capacities?  Of course   he did  (Phil. 3), but it was not this  capacity that he employed  and trusted  in, in order to plant or to maintain a church. 

Second, notice  his strategy  for establishing this  church!

•          V.3: "I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.”

•        V.4:  “… my speech  and my message  were… in demonstration of the Spirit and of power"

What is Paul trying to prove here?  From a  worldly  perspective  this resolution seems  to be a recipe for disaster.  A man  who is weak, uncertain  and trembling must after all  have low self- esteem!   In 2 Cor. 10:10 his opponents were saying this of him: "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is of no account."   Evidently Paul in his person did not have a very strong, appealing appearance. In fact there may have been something physically  wrong with Paul – something  which made him chronically weak. We have a hint of this  in  Galatians 4:13–14  where he tells us, "You know it was because of a bodily ailment [or weakness] that I preached the gospel to you at first; and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God."

Paul wants the Corinthian Christians  to see that  they were not born out of human strength or resolution  or  strategy. They were born out of human weakness, but this weakness (not only in Him, but in them also)   was  used by God  to bring about a wonderful change  in the lives of  these Corinthian Christians. We  can see this in  in 1:26-29:

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

The  end effect of  this is  that we must ask  “well if this is not of Paul… then what is it?“. The answer is,  this is by  the power of God!  A man or woman becomes a Christian  not because they are persuaded by human speech or personalities. They are not converted because they are  clever enough to understand  the gospel.  People become Christians  when God’s power,  through the agency of the Holy Spirit  makes them alive  to see  Christ for who He really is!

And it goes further.  In this case Paul’s goal or resolution was  to restore a church that was hopelessly divided. What must a weak  preacher do  to  bring a  divided church  back  to  its  senses? Here is Paul’s  primary resolution:

V.2  “I decided (resolved)   to know nothing  among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

This doesn’t mean that all Paul  spoke about  was the Lord’s death on the cross. We know from his letters that he spoke  about many and practical  things pertaining to  living the Christian  life, even the things that I am encouraging you to think about today,  but  the fact remains  that  all this  was  subject to Paul’s primary  desire: His love for Christ and His  work on the cross! 

All he ultimately did  was  related  to  bringing  people  to the  Christ of the cross.  His tent making profession by which he kept himself  financially supplied was ultimately so that he  could bring people to look at the Lamb of God. His teaching and preaching  ultimately was  aimed to   bring  people to the word of the cross.  His relationships  were  conducted towards that end (1 Cor.10:24). Even his eating and drinking was to the glory of God (1 Cor.10:31)

The secret of  the power  of  Paul’s message  was not  found in Paul, but  in something  external to Paul. The secret  power of the  Christian  gospel  lies not in the messenger, but in the Lord of the message. That is why Paul calls himself  an apostle (a messenger)  of Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:1).  Paul’s life changing message of the cross  is found  in  the fact that he is   a messenger in the hand of the Holy Spirit, and therefore that message  through him  will be  a  powerful, inspired, God breathed authority that  comes   with life giving force to  its hearers. 

So,  even though Paul  was a well trained as a Pharisee, he did not allow  his own wisdom or the conventional  wisdom of the day  to get into the way.  All he  did was to  preach  Christ crucified,  and thus he became  a vessel  that  the Holy Spirit  would  use so very   powerfully in His day and even today. Many people today are still converted by the words  of Paul.

I have shared this message with you  on this first Sunday in 2016  to show you two things:

1.       That it is good to make  godly resolutions  when new beginnings arise.

2.      That we need   a solid foundation  for these  resolutions  i.e. Christ at the center and the heart of our lives and therefore of our convictions. If we merely use our human willpower,  then our resolutions usually do not get very far.

Now go back to the  10 resolutions, and  humbly, and  with the help of God and rooted in Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit  ask God to bless your year as you  abide in Him,  seeking to glorify Him in all that you do.

Amen! 

Proverbs 3:1- 10 "On Living Wisely!" - Appropriate Words for the Beginning of the Year 2015

I wish  you all a very happy  and fruitful new year, filled with God’s choicest  blessings  for you  that trust in Him with all your heart!

Last week, at the end of  the old year 2014,  we  considered  Proverbs chapter  2  which  speaks  about  the blessings that  God given wisdom brings into our lives.  Here Solomon  speaks  to his son (1:8,10,15 ;2:1; 3:1,11,21 etc.) – perhaps  Rehoboam,  who became his successor. Solomon himself  was privileged to  have received  an unusual  measure  of  the gift  of  knowledge and wisdom from God (2 Chronicles 1: 12).  Thus,  under the supervision of the Holy Spirit he was  able  to write down  such  wisdom from God also  for our benefit.  I remind you then  that this  is not  Solomon’s  own wisdom that is  dispensed here. No!  He  speaks of   a wisdom that is given to Him  from God, and as such it is absolutely true,   infallible, and  profound. This godly wisdom is a  precious gift. It is  the ability  to see life as God sees it.

As  we face   the year of our Lord 2015  I can think of  no  greater desire on the part of any Christian but  to  walk in wisdom, making  one wise  decision  after another , and reaping the benefits of wise living  as we walk through this year and through  this  life  on our way  to the heavenly city. Sadly, sin often gets in the way , and for this reason we ought  to be all the more glad  that we have a  Saviour who not only forgives us all our sin and foolishness, but who calls and enables us to walk  by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:16), whom He has sent  to be  with us and in us (Jn. 14:17)  and to help  us  by means of His inspired Word  - such as this book of Proverbs.

The  contrast  to the wise man  in Proverbs is  the “fool”. We want to avoid his company. Proverbs 13:20 says:  “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” The Bible helps us to stay out of harm’s way, if we are  willing to embrace  and live by its wisdom.  Wisdom  doesn’t come easy.  From chapter 2   we understood that godly wisdom (2:6)  comes from the diligent and  prayerful searching  of the Word of God (the image here is derived from  mining – 2:4). May the LORD give you a heart  in 2015  to desire the company of the wise, and  may you  have a heart to diligently  follow His  teaching  and His commandments. The Bible is a book full of wonderful promises.

With  this in mind let us consider  Proverbs 3 :1-12

In this section we find  5 great promises.  

Just a brief word about  promises.  

An unconditional  promise says, “I promise  to  give you a thousand dollars  for your birthday!”  

A conditional promise  says, “I will give you a thousand  dollars  for  your birthday, if you do  well in  your school  exams!” 

So, note firstly  that   Bible promises  generally have  conditions (if… then)  attached to them. This is the case also with our text. There are  5 wonderful promises here for you, but they are all attached to conditions. 

Secondly,  we need to remember that what is promised may not come exactly in those terms. There may be exceptions.  However   the  spiritual reality  that lies  behind the wonderful things such as  long life (3:1,2),  the promise of  a good reputation and success  (3:3,4), the promise of guidance and blessing  (3:5,6), the promise of health and strength  (3:7,8)  and  the promise of wealth and abundance (3: 9,10)   will generally  come to   those    that obey  the Lord Jesus  Christ.  God is  known to be generous.  This is the promise even of Christ in the gospels   in Matthew  19: 29  where He  promises His disciples  who have forsaken everything to follow Him: “you will receive  a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life”. Notice  however,  that there is a condition attached to their rewards   - they  leave houses, brothers, sisters, parents, lands for Christ’s sake.  

Thirdly,  we need to remember  that a   believer may experience  a time of ‘leanness’  or apparent lack of blessing . This may be due to sin or disobedience , in which case God withholds  His blessings  for the purpose of chastisement, or  there may be (as in Job’s case)  a time   of divine testing when God intends to teach us  profound lessons. This  may be a time  when the believer is sorely afflicted , His life appears to be totally ‘unblessed’ , but not  for reason of  personal  sin,  but for the sake  of God’s greater glory  ( e.g.  John 9:3 – the man born blind)

                                

We have established  the fact   then  that  God  generally makes  conditional  promises. He   attaches His promises  to our  obedience. John Calvin   said it  like this, 

“As God  gives Himself to us in His promises, we must give ourselves to Him in duties”.[1]   

As we  seek  God’s wisdom and  God’s blessings for ourselves and our families   in 2015,  I pray that we may  understand this and take it to heart. 

And so we note  firstly  that the  wise son   does not forget the teaching of his father. He listens.  [3:1] My son, do not forget my teaching (“torah”), but let your heart keep my commandments,[2] for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.  To  such a son is promised length of days … and peace (“shalom” – a sense of rounded wellbeing).  Obedience  to parental teaching that is based on the Word of God leads to blessing.  This fact is even  entrenched in the 10 commandments: “Honour  your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Ex. 20:12). God’s Word is given to us fallen people  to give us hope and a future. Ultimately it points us forward to eternal life ( life without end) in heaven. The condition is that we need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ  with all our heart.  

May  your year  be filled with obedience to God’s Word, and  may you be of long service and blessing to this earth  and  God’s to  church.  

Secondly, Solomon  says:  “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (3:3).   The wise son  is furthermore exhorted  not to let  steadfast love  and faithfulness forsake him. These are two keywords  in the OT  vocabulary  of the Bible.

Steadfast love (Heb. hesed) and  faithfulness (Heb. 'emet)  are  both attributes  of God. This is how God deals with  His children. Now  if we  understand this, and if  we   make this  a way of life  (wear this as a symbol around our neck ; better still  - have this truth engraved upon the tablet of our hearts)  then we must not be surprised   that we find ourselves loved by God and man on this account. This  unstable, unfaithful world  sits up and takes notice  when they see a steadfastly loving  and faithful man and woman. Such people are shelters  to a hurting society. We miss them sorely when they are taken from us. 

May  we be committed to  a life of steadfast  (principled, consistent) and faithful love in 2015, and may the LORD be pleased  to bless many other through  your consistent life!

Thirdly, [5] Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. The wise son  learns to trust in the Lord , by  listening  to  his father’s  sound teaching , embracing this teaching   for life, always remembering  and imitating the character of God.  To  “trust in God”   and to  "not lean  on your own understanding"  is  an important  distinction.  The one is the wisdom of God and the other is the wisdom of man.   

To trust God with all your heart  means firstly   that  there must be  personal  faith in God. Faith  is the key to the fulfilment of every promise - Jesus was always looking for faith when He healed people. Secondly,  to  trust God means  that we  are not to lean on our own understanding. We are  not to live by  our own conventional wisdom. Thirdly we are  to acknowledge Him in all our ways  - in every way (all  the details of our life). Be consistent  with all  your life. What you are on Sunday at church you ought to be at home and at work in the week.  The promise here  in Proverbs 3:6b  is that He will direct your path. One of the  wonderful facts of the Christian life is that even though it is not always easy to be a Christian, it is generally  straight forward path.  God’s ways are straight and clear. “The steps of a  man are ordered by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23,24). 

May your walk with God in  2015 be characterized by clarity and not  by confusion  as you actively trust the Lord with all your heart. 

Fourthly , [7] Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.[8] It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Here we learn that the wise son  understands three things: humility (a correct  concept of the character of God),  the fear of the Lord  (a pervasive sense of the presence of God)  and holiness (obedience - a constant awareness of our  obligation to God). The promise  connected to this  act of obedience and understanding  is  that  of healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. It is true of course that Christians  will become ill  and die at some stage, but the point here  is that a humble Christian, who fears the Lord  and obeys him, will have  a settled and quiet heart. Therefore they will be less prone  to stress, high blood pressure  and all the stress related diseases  that come upon us  when  we ignore these three  things . I pray  that 2015   will have less health issues for you,   as you  make your theology  (what you believe about God)  count. There can be no  doubt that  our modern society  is stressed out  and over medicated. Could it be that  reviewing your life according to God’s Word would bring healing to your bones? 

Fifthly, [9] honour the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; [10] then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with  wine.” The principle of honouring the Lord with our material  substance is  well established in the Bible (e.g.  Prov. 11:25; 19:17;22:9; 28:27 ; Malachi 3:10ff ; 2 Corinthians  8  & 9) . It is one great way in which we  firstly acknowledge in thankfulness  all our belongings as from His hand and  secondly  we  invest  that which we give  in  His kingdom . The more  people become true Christians  the  more livable and prosperous our society becomes.  The application  of this is   what we read in Matthew 6:33. 

May  you be enabled to be generous  in your giving in 2015, and in turn be not surprised  when God  prospers you  in turn.

We have  seen then that God’s blessings are attached to  obedient living . As you prepare for this year  resolved to obey God  (and this means spending  much time in His presence) my prayer  is that you will be able to sense that you are engaged in wise living! Secondly, my prayer  is  that as we live wisely so  our society  will  benefit  from our God given  wisdom. We desperately need a reformation of morals and manners  in our day. 

May God be pleased to do this through you wherever  you live and work. Amen !

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[1] Gary Brady : Heavenly Wisdom , p. 75 ,  EP Press 

John 15:1-8 "Fruitful in 2013"

On the night that He is betrayed by Judas,  Jesus is speaking His last exhortations to His disciples as they  are   gathered in  an upper room of a house. Last words are important words.  These last words are recorded in John 13-17. 

In Ch. 13, in the act of foot-washing  the Lord Jesus reminds them to be true  servants to one another.  He  tells a self- confident Peter  that  he will not have   natural  strength to follow him in the hour of great trial  (13:36-38). Peter will later learn that he survives his ordeal only  by  the grace of Jesus alone – “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail” ( Lk. 22:32 ; Jn. 21:15ff) 

He teaches them in 13:31-35 to live from the principle  of “agape”  (sacrificial, other centered  love). This will be the primary  exhibition of Christ’s  love  on earth ,  after He is gone. (v.35)     

He tells them   about His imminent departure, and what He will do in heaven in His absence.  He  reminds them that He will come back (14:1-4).

·      He also promises them  that in the days of His physical absence, He would not leave them as orphans, but that He would  sent the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, the Teacher  who would be with them and in them  (14:17 ; Ch 16).  

·      Then, in John 15:1-17 He speaks to them about  a vital  distinction  that would set His disciples apart from  any other people:  Christian fruitfulness!    

This  is what  we wish to focus on  as we  set our eyes upon 2013, asking ourselves, “How shall we be  bear the marks of fruitfulness   in 2013?” 

Jesus uses  a  picture (metaphor)  to illustrate  His teaching. He uses the  example of a Vine dresser, a vine  and its branches.  He explains the metaphor.  God the Father is the Vine –dresser; Jesus is the vine, and  the disciples (illustrative of all  Christian disciples) are the branches. Branches   are  the fruit-bearing part of the vine.  

The great focus of the story is  on how to get  maximum   fruitfulness out of the  vine.  This is a story  about the Christian church – not so much  about individual  Christians. Grapes hang together in clusters ! This is more about what we are together, than what we are as individuals. 

Now let us follow the logic of our text:

V1.a: “I am the true vine “- Christ identifies Himself as  the true  vine.

V1.b : “and my Father is the vine-dresser “  -  this refers to God  the Father.

V.2: “Every branch in me …” … “you are the branches…” (v.5). All true  Christians are  branches united to the  Christ  the  vine stem , and tended by God the Vine-dresser.

Vv2&3: “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. This  is the work of God in the  believer, and it is very distinct from what he refers  to in v 6. Here  He  speaks about the  sanctifying work of God in the life  of the believer,  whereby  He refines, purifies and prunes  every true believer. All this is for our good  and for God’s glory. The Bible has much to say about this necessary work of  pruning in the life of the believer. We must never reject that work. We must embrace it. We must not think  that God does not love us, because  we experience  His pruning. 

We do not become more valuable to Him  because we  grow in sanctification. We are  already clean because of the finished work of Christ. This is not about  getting more approval and love  from God because we are  fruitful. When we are in Christ  we are loved, and God the Father  will do His loving work in us. It’s called  pruning!  It’s called preparing us for heaven (14:1-3)

Vv 4- 5: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Believers (the church)  are reminded  that true  fruitfulness  can only be achieved  as the church  abides/remains  in Christ. [Note , John’s example  of the danger of not doing this is seen in the  example of the church at Ephesus, who lost her first love  – Revelation  2:1-7]. Without Christ at the center and relied  upon, the church  cannot bear much fruit. The true fruitfulness of the church is   through her  active union  and communion with her Lord  Jesus Christ. Christ is therefore the ultimate  source  of the church’s fruitfulness! 

V.6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

This is the most disturbing picture in  Christ’s  metaphor.  We note that  Jesus speaks about two types of branches : those branches that bear fruit (15:2b,5,8) and those that do  not bear fruit (15:2a,6).   Both  experience the  scissors  of the Vine Dresser. The  fruitful branches are pruned – trimmed to make them even more fruitful; the  unfruitful branches are cut off altogether and are ultimately  thrown into the fire.  Both  branches are cut, but for different purposes. Some branches are pruned to make them more fruitful (Christians)  and other branches  are cut off and thrown away.  Does this  mean  that dead, unfruitful branches are  Christians that  have  lost their salvation and are now cast into hell?  No, it doesn’t!  That would bring us into conflict with the  power  and the nature of  Christ’s salvation.  So we cannot conclude that at all. But what it does  imply is  nevertheless a deeply disturbing thought, namely that there are at all times people (members) in the church who may be called ‘unfruitful branches’. No pruning will make them  more fruitful. But they are there among the cluster of grapes.  They have for some reason or another (but not through  genuine regeneration)  joined themselves to the church as visible members, but (here’s the point)  they  show  ultimately no  spiritual fruitfulness.  God gets no glory from them. These , says Jesus  are cut off  and thrown into  the fire and burned. Jesus uses the same  metaphors elsewhere in the gospels to speak about  such wicked servants  (e.g. Matt.   25:30) being thrown into eternal hell.  

How do we understand  the position  of  such  people in the church? These are the one’s  spoken of in  Hebrews  6:4, who  “…  have  once been enlightened , who have tasted the heavenly gift , who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age …”. They exist in the midst of fruitfulness. They have seen fruitfulness. They have been enlightened concerning it; they have  tasted, they have shared, but they have not been cleansed from their sins; they  have  not  exhibited  fruitfulness.

An immediate  example from our context in John’s gospel  would  be Judas  (13:21ff). He had fully participated in  Christ  and in the life of the disciples. Yet, finally  he proves  to be a dead, unfruitful branch.

V.7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. The  act of  abiding in Christ and His  words  (meaning that His words need to live  in us and direct our thoughts and actions)  holds out  an incredible promise  for  the church!  Our prayers  (according to His will)  will be answered!   What incredible power that lends to the church!  Whatsoever God has promised  and  commanded  in the Scripture may be sought by us.  God will answer  our prayers for the salvation  of  lost souls ; we will see the church  expand locally and globally  in missions and evangelism as we pray; we will  see our  every need (physical, emotional and spiritual) provided; we will  receive the kind of government that we pray for  etc. 

This is a huge  thought  and a huge promise at the beginning of 2013 as we prepare for Prayer week 2013 .

So, dear brothers and sisters, begin  this year by dedicating  yourself  afresh to Christ.  Abide in Him; remain in Him. Understand that this means that  your Father in Heaven  will  do the pruning work in you,  but only to make you more fruitful. If you are a true  Christian and if you are presently grieving the Holy Spirit  through  your secret sin,  then know that God  will deal  with your sin, and make you more fruitful along with all of us here at Eastside. If He  leaves you alone in your sin, then you have  every reason  to believe  that  you have not been  cleansed  by Christ from your past sin. You need to  fear God’s final judgment.

If you  are not  sure whether you are “in Christ”, or if you beginning  to wonder if you have ever  been a true Christian and  if you are presently convicted by your own fruitlessness, then what must you do?   How do you get  into Christ ?  

John’s Gospel tells us how :

(i)                 You  need to go and see Jesus  for  yourself (John 1 :35-51).

(ii)                You need to be born again  through the Holy Spirit  (John 3:1-10) 

(iii)         You  need to hear His Word spoken to you. You need to hear about your true condition  and  your  future  without Christ and in eternal hell. You need to understand that without being in Him  you will  be   lost and  dead in  your sins.  (John 3:18-20 ;  15:5,7). You need to flee to Christ  for refuge from the wrath of God upon you.

(iv)             You  need  to  stop sinning (John 5:14)  and actively repent and  believe all that is written in God’s Word (John 20:31) . 

The Results of fruitfulness 

One I have already mentioned:  If you are in Christ and you abide in Him   by getting nourishment from Jesus and His words, then  you  will  have liberty in prayer “…ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. “  We  as a church shall  be  satisfied  with an abundance of answers to our prayer in 2013  as  we continue  to  learn to  abide in Christ  and live according to His Word.

Secondly, this : V.8   By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

When we  bear much fruit, God is glorified!  That is the goal and the end  for  which the Christian  is  brought into Christ and into His body, the church - that we bear much fruit. In this is  God the Father glorified. There is more glory in the cluster  than  in  a single grape. So think and pray much about your   spiritual involvement at Eastside in 2013,    in worship, in prayer, in the use of your spiritual gifts.

And if  God is glorified  then we  shall be satisfied!  There is something intensely satisfying about seeing  the work of God bear fruit. When God is glorified in the progress of the church and  in the conversion of souls, through growth in grace and holiness, that  will also produce  a deep  sense  of  satisfaction   within own  souls,  and  within the  life of    Eastside Baptist  Church.   Do you see what is at stake in a fruitful Christian life?  God gets all the glory and we get  the satisfaction and joy.