April 2009

Mercy

Matthew 5:7… "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." NIV

The phrase shown mercy, sometimes translated as obtain mercy, comes from the Greek word eleeō. Its main use in the NT is to signify God’s mercy in salvation, in which He acts to reverse the adverse affects of sin, thus relieving sinners of their moral and spiritual wretchedness. The seeming implication of verse 7 is that only those who themselves show mercy, will receive it. In other words, in the age to come when we meet God face to face, the only people who will receive mercy from Him are those who have been merciful in this age to others.

But this posses an important question… Is this a salvation by works? Do we earn God’s mercy according to the level of our mercy? Obviously not, for salvation is a gift from God, received by faith through Jesus Christ alone.

What then does verse 7 mean? To understand this, we have to come back to the definition of the word blessed, which literally means fully satisfied.

In the New testament, this word is used to describe the joy that comes from salvation. It is a deep and true satisfaction that comes as a result of salvation through Jesus Christ. So what Jesus is saying in verse 7 is this… true joy and complete satisfaction is only possible to those who practice mercy out of an understanding of the mercy they have already received… and will continue to receive… from God.

Will only merciful people find mercy from God on judgment day? The answer is yes… because only those who receive God’s mercy will be in the Kingdom of God… and to receive God’s mercy means that one will show mercy to others. Mercy is not conditional… it is essential. It is not something the Christian should practice when it suits… it is something that should be practiced unconditionally.

Joke of the week

A man walked into a chip shop and asked the guy behind the counter for some helecopter flavoured chips. The man replied, "Sorry Sir, we only sell plane chips here."

web page update

After many long nights and a steep learning curve, i have finally got the new higher-road webpage up. If you have been visiting my blog using a direct link, you might like to have a look. You will find the navigation bar above the calander on the right. As you will discover, we are a heading into a new phase of ministry. So go and have a look and I hope you enjoy.

Matt

Coming Close To God

After a few conversations with people this past week, I have noticed some common themes developing. The issue of suffering and the question of spiritual thirst for God. In the middle of all that, I had cause to re-read Psalm 73, one of my favouite psalms. The result of all this was that I was reminded of some study I had done from this psalm and how it had helped me to answer some of these questions. Maybe it will be helpful to you. So here it is...

The writer of Hebrews says… Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The Bible contains many examples of people who approached the throne of grace with confidence. We could study the prayer life of Moses, Joshua, David, Jeremiah or Paul… even Jesus, but I want to draw your attention to Asaph. Who was Asaph? Asaph was one of the leaders of the temple choir, set apart by King David to serve God (see 1 Chronicles 25:1). Asaph was also one of the authors of many of the Psalms. One in particular is Psalm 73.

Psalm 73 is a prayer of doubt. In it, Asaph pours out his heart to God and confesses that he is struggling to make sense of the world around him. As he looks around him, he notices that those who despise God and live in blatant disregard of God’s law… seem to be living happy, prosperous and care free lives. This observation caused Asaph to doubt.

Verses 13-14 express what is going on in Asaph’s heart. The New living Translation puts it like this…

13 Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure and kept myself from doing wrong? 14All I get is trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.

Have you ever felt this way? When you look at the world around you… when you see how the people around you live… they seem to prosper and enjoy life… with no consideration for God or spiritual things. It hardly seems fair. Have you ever found yourself asking a similar question to the one that Asaph asked? “Is the Christian life all for nothing? Am I the one who is being deceived?” Verses 15 - 16 give us an real insight into the state of Asaph’s mind. What he was saying was… "This is how I feel… but I dare not say anything. Yet, just thinking about it is more than I can bear."

But something happened in Asaph’s life that dramatically turned him around. Have a look at verse 17. Notice the phase "…till I entered the sanctuary of God…". What was it that Asaph saw in the sanctuary that changed his attitude toward God and his understanding of what was going on around him? I believe that 2 Chronicles 5-7 tells us.

Notice the progression… In chapter 5:13 they praised the Lord and sang “He is good: his love endures forever.” In chapter 7:3, they bowed down in worship, their faces to the ground, and gave thanks, saying, “He is good: his love endures forever.” Asaph, and all those with him, went from singing mere words… to offering heartfelt worship. Asaph was a witness to the outpouring of God’s power and Glory. He heard the prayer spoken by Solomon and he participated in the worship right there in the presence of God’s Glory.

To say that this event had a significant impact on his life would be an understatement. What Asaph experienced changed is perspective of the world around him and it opened his eyes to the reality of who God really was. Lets go back to Psalm 73:28 and see how he concludes his psalm.

"But as for me, it is good to be near God."

Here is a man who has come close to God. Here is a man who knows what it means to worship God. Here is a man who has been transformed because of God's great glory. Here is a man who knows what prayer really is. So what do we learn from Asaph? That prayer is an act of humble worship in which we seek God with all our heart. It is the means by which we enter into the sanctuary of God. But is more than that because prayer like this causes real life transformation.

As a result of experiencing God… meeting with him in a very real and personal way.. Asaph acknowledges how good it is to be near His God… he reaffirms his faith in God as his strength and saviour… and he declares his intention to tell others about God’s greatness and goodness.

My Prayer

Father, you are good… and your Love endures forever. Thankyou for your everlasting Love and thankyou for your everlasting Word. Thankyou for your Son, Jesus… our saviour and our Lord.

Thankyou for your great love toward us… that even whilst were still sinners… you allowed your Son to take our place for the forgiveness of our sin.

Thankyou Lord that because of Jesus’ shed blood, we are able to enter into your sanctuary… that we might know you… that we might be near to you. Thankyou that it is you who draws near to us.

Father, as we go… may we go in the knowledge of your love and grace and may our hearts be filled to overflowing with your peace. And give us a heart to tell others of your great love… that they might come to call on you as their Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This beatitude, found in Matthew 5:8, echoes what David said in Psalm 24:3-4…

3Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

According to this verse, a pure heart is a heart that has nothing to do with idolatry or falsehood. Or to put it another way… a pure heart is truthful and free from deceitfulness because it is focused on one thing, as stated in verse 6, to "seek the face of the Lord". In the NT, James gives us an insight into this idea of purity, in James 4:8…

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Notice that just like in Psalm 24, there is reference to both clean hands and a pure heart as preparation for drawing near to God. Also, both David and James have in mind the idea that purity of heart means to be single minded in focus on one thing and one thing alone… the Glory of God.

Jesus explains purity of heart in another way, in Matthew 22:37…

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Not with part of your heart. Not with a divided heart. That would be impurity. Purity of heart is to will one thing… the glory of God… and we do this by living our lives according to God's truth and God's values in everything we do. The aim of the pure heart then, is to align itself with the truth of God in order to magnify the worth of God. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with absolute single-mindedness. The reward... you will see God.

Wisdom of God

I have been contemplating the meaning of what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25...

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Why? Becuase recently I was having a conversation with someone about the friendship evangelism v's direct evangelism methods of sharing the Gospel. Now I am all for building relationships with people. There is power in relationship. It matters. People need to be loved and to feel loved and there is no question that Jesus himself requires that those who follow Him, love others. But is relationship alone, enough to win someone over into the Kingdom of God? The part from the above quote that really grabs my attention about this question is verse 21.

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

What is paul saying here? It seems to me that the preached, or spoken word, is a nececary part of the process. The debate then is not so much about how we influence people for Jesus by the way we live, even though that IS important. The Gospel needs to be lived out. The question is, are we telling the Gospel to those we are in community with?

I am reminded of my relationship with my wife. I can live with her all I like. I can show my love for her every day in a thousand different and creative ways. But most of all, if i want her to know that i love her... I have to tell her. It might sound like foolishness, or even 'old fashoned', but unless people hear the Good News... how will they be saved? I don't have the wisdom to understand how, but I am willing to give it my best shot.