Still time to book in or think about coming to our About Life seminars. Free dinner, interesting thoughts and discussion. Come and see what it's all about! Click here for more information.
Lazarus, come forth!
Today we were lucky enough to have James come and talk to us about John 11. He shared with us that it has been a couple of years since his wife died. It was an emotional morning looking at trial, why it happens, how we can glorify God in the middle of it and looking forward to a happier time.
Chapter 10 is all about the works that bear witness that Jesus is the son of God. In chapter 12 it is about Mary anointing him ready for burial. John 11 is then a very pivotal chapter. When Jesus, in John 11:4, hears that Lazarus is sick he sees this as an opportunity to show the glory of God. Maybe he had already talked and planned this with God. v41 says, "Father I thank you that you have heard me."
John 5:25 Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and IS NOW HERE, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Why did Jesus allow this to happen? Why did he deliberately wait 2 extra days before he left? He could have healed Lazarus before he died, was he being insensitive?
John 11:15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. v40 Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"
How did Lazarus dying bring about the glory of God? Well in Rom 4:20-21 we hear that Abraham gives glory to God by having a strong faith and being fully convinced that God is able to do what he promised.
Rom 8:28 And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
This verse can bring an incredible amount of comfort. Ultimately, our trials will lead to good if we love God. In John 11, Jesus is trying to remind them the love is important. The word 'LOVE' is used 4 times.
Our love for God can grow deeper through trials. We allow our hope to be in God and God alone.
When Martha is positive that Jesus can heal her brother she directly quotes John 9:30. Maybe she was there for the healing of the blind man and truly knew that, 'Whatever you ask from God, he will give you'.
Resurrection isn't something we should focus on in the future it is something we should focus on everyday. v26 whoever lives and believes in me, will never die.
v35 Jesus wept. He understands that we are sad and trials are hard. He feels everything we go through and he cares. But ultimately, he wants us to know that trials work to bring ultimate good.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
The chapter goes on to talk about his sisters who were worried that Lazarus would be stinking in the grave and didn’t understand why Jesus would want to go near his grave. Maybe they thought that it would be too late. Do we ever doubt that God can bring about his promises? God can take a person from corruption and bring them unto life.
In the kingdom, the last enemy to be destroyed will be death. Jesus cried with a LOUD VOICE, "Lazarus, come forth!"
This takes our minds directly to the last days when the ‘Lord himself will come down from heaven with a LOUD SHOUT...and the dead in Christ will rise from their graves.’ 1 Thess 4:16
Lazarus walks out, bound hand and foot in his grave clothes. What a fitting symbol of mortality. In the kingdom, mortality will be loosed. Acts 24 talks about Jesus loosening the pains of death. Here, Jesus asks to unbind him, take off the grave clothes and let him go. What a beautiful reminder of the kingdom, where we can leave sin and mortality behind us and enter our new lives.
As a result of this moment, so many believed in him which is what glorifying God is all about. In chapter 12 they had a special supper with Jesus, sat around and ate and drank with Jesus, their lives forever changed. We did this same simple act this morning and though we each have trials to bear, we remember that soon our grave clothes will soon be taken off and we will be free.
What Colour Are You?
Last night at Bible class with Adam Byrnes, we looked at what it feels like to be a 3rd culture child and how hard it is to be caught between cultures. We discussed a poem by Whitni Thomas, called Colours.
I grew up in a Yellow country
But my parents are Blue.
I'm Blue.
Or at least, that is what they told me.
But I play with the Yellows.
I went to school with the Yellows.
I spoke the Yellow language.
I even dressed and appeared to be Yellow.
Then I moved to the Blue land.
Now I go to school with the Blues.
I speak the Blue language.
I even dress and look Blue.
But deep down, inside me, something's Yellow.
We looked at the character Moses who was born an Israelite, adopted by an Egyptian princess, nursed by an Israelite and taught in the courts of the Egyptians. He was given an Israelite name and then an Egyptian name. Later on, after being brought up with all the wealth of being a 'prince' in Egypt, he had to make a choice.
Heb 11:26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Moses did ultimately make this choice but his journey wasn't an easy one. He was a third culture kid, caught between two worlds. At the time he made his choice, he was still fairly spiritually immature (considering he was just about to murder someone!)
Whilst out in the wilderness, he called his son 'refugee'. He felt lost and caught, unsure of his identity. We can all identify with this as moments in our lives, we struggle to confirm our identity and we struggle to make choices between what 'culture' we are in. Are with in a godly culture or are we in a culture of the world?
When he came back to Egypt, he asked Pharaoh to let MY people go. Finally, he had begun to identify with his people and with his God. He had begun to understand that 'God, You are...therefore I AM'. Moses began as a shepherd and became a deliverer. He was a refugee and went to the land of milk and honey.
It is fundamental we decide who we are. Am I with God or not? What is my personal identity?
Phil 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
At the most, the longest we will live is about 90 years old. In the end our personal identify won't matter. Because forget online identify theft, the grave is the biggest theft of identify. So, today we need to make the choice. What colour are you? Will you live in a blue city or a yellow city?
Heb 11:9-10 By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents...for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Plants in the Bible
Tonight we were lucky to have Dave and Gab come and visit us. Dave spoke on the topic he had been given as a bit of a semi-joke ;) but it was really interesting. The topic was Plants in the Bible.
It might be a strange question...but what would you rather be? A grass, herb or tree?
- Grass is wild, naturally occurring and short lived.
- Herbs are planted, cultivated and harvested.
- Trees are more substantial and long lasting.
Psa 92:12-14 The righteous flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon...they still bear fruit in old age, they are ever full of sap and green.
Trees are a symbol of beauty and have been so since the beginning. It was the tree which was Eve's undoing. Each tree in the Bible reminds us of a Bible story or reminds us of a lesson Jesus taught.
For example, if we look at the Oak tree, it is described as a massive shade area for people to meet and discuss. The stories we think of are Absolem getting his hair caught in one, an angel met Gideon under one, Deborah was buried under one, Joshua set a monument under one, idol worship in Judges happened under one. It could be used for good or for bad. What stories oaks could tell! Or think about the almond trees are a symbol of resurrection. It is the first tree that flowers in spring. In the Bible we think of Aaron's rod that budded.
Vines were the last example we looked at. Vines need to be pruned, handpicked, planted and more.
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.
We are born as grass, already dying. God has to work with us until we become 'herbs'. Then eventually, we become long-lasting trees (through his grace).
Spring Bible School
Some our members recently attended a Bible school at Rathmines, Lake Macquarie. Families come from all over Australia and spend a week together and renew old acquaintances and make new friends.
We had three different Bible studies in the morning.
The first one was on Isaac (one of the original forefathers of the Israelites).We learnt that though he was part of a very wealthy family he wasn't focused on possessions but was happy to live in a tent because he was focused on a future life that God had promised him.
The second study was on the book of Ecclesiastes. It is about wise sayings from an old man and shows that life itself is meaningless without trying your best to understand there is a God and to try to follow him.
The third study was on Aaron an old testament priest who sometimes pales into insignificance when compared to his much better known brother Moses. We saw he had some major failures in his life and yet rose to some amazingly wonderful heights by making good choices in his life. We saw the positive influence his descendants had on Israel over the next 1500 years
The children aged 2-4 have Kindy corner where they do a little Bible activity, play games, have story time and morning tea. The 5-12 year old children have their own classes in the morning and learn a bible story, practice for a play they put on later in the week for the adults and do a Bible project. The teenagers have their own classes studying similar things to the adults, but they also looked at Revelation, which is an amazing book of prophecy about past and future times.
During the week, there was also a wonderful evening of song and praise, an outing to the Hunter Valley and a picnic by the lake complete with kids races and hot roast beef sandwiches and cupcakes!
There is plenty of time for chatting and eating over a lovely cup of coffee from the cafe too. It was (to say the least) a week well spent! For more information about this camp, visit the website.
Camp
One of our members, Mel, has moved up to Kempsey and we all drove up to visit her and spend the weekend at Crescent Head.
It was fabulous to get out in nature, read the readings together, eat, play volleyball and tennis and even fit in a Spring swim! How blessed we are to live in such a beautiful country where we can enjoy God's creation whilst having the freedom to discuss His Word.
A look at James
We're trying a new style of Bible Class, a little more informal to get people interacting more and to make it a bit more relaxed.
On Wednesday, we sat down in a circle, Bibles open on tables and looked at James. Apparently James has more allusions to Jesus than in the whole of the New Testament. It is written by Jesus' brother, who had a very close relationship with him and some fantastic insights to share. He addresses us as his brethren and shares his thoughts with the early ecclesias (churches) who began to loose their first joy with new issues and personality disagreements creeping in. It was a fabulous night looking at the value of 'counting it all joy when you meet trials' and discussing how we can do this, along with 'praying without doubting' in order to be 'steadfast under trial, for when we have stood the test, we will receive the crown of life'. Easy to say, hard to do.
Chapter 1 ends with one of the most famous verses, 'Religion that is pure and undefiled is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world'. Let's go out and try and do more good this week.
Unsung heroes
Tonight at Bible class, Simon took us through the ‘Unsung Heroes’ of the Bible. It is interesting to look at these people and find out why they are mentioned by name and why we don’t know much about them.
Has anyone heard of Puah and Shiphrah? In Exodus 1:15-21, they were the midwives for the Israelites at the time of Pharaoh. Pharaoh is not mentioned by name, even though they are. You may be the wealthiest person alive, with the most power and influence but it doesn’t matter if you don’t fear God. V17 says that these midwives feared God.
For those who fear him, God says:
Isa 49:16 Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of my hands.
Unsung hero #3 is Gedaliah. Jer 40:11-12 mentions that he is appointed governor and Johanan asks him if he wants him to kill Ishmael (who he doesn’t seem to trust). Maybe Gedaliah decides to give Ishmael the benefit of the doubt, which ultimately leads to his death. This is sad, but in the end, maybe he will be rewarded for his faith or ability to give second chances?
Isa 11:2-4 talks about when Jesus will return and he will “not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his eyes hear. But with righteousness he shall judge the poor.”
Onto the next unsung heroes in 2 Sam 17:27-29… Shobi, Barzillai and Machir. They are the men who bring beds, basins, food and crockery for David and his people. This is such a thoughtful gesture when David is running for his life.
Why did God decide in these cases that they only get a brief mention in the Bible? For another example, in Judges 3:31 Shamgar slew 600 Philistines with an ox goad but he only gets one verse! It’s interesting to think that there are so many inspiring people, maybe there are so many that the Bible would be twice as big if it was all recorded in detail. Maybe it’s like what John 21:25 mentions, “Jesus did many other things as well. If everyone of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
It definitely gives us more people to add to our people-to-meet in the kingdom and more stories to look forward to hearing.
Baptisms, Study Weeks and Weddings
July has been a busy one! We've had a few cancelled Sunday mornings and bible classes due to some wonderful things that have been on. Sorry for the lack of blog posts but we have had so much on (including a lot of us travelling to Canada for a wedding of one of our members).
First of all, one of our friends from Sydney was baptised! It was so lovely to witness her beliefs and her faith as she chose life and chose God. She was baptised at home, in a simple bath, surrounded by trees.
Mark 16:16 whoever believes and is baptised will be saved
Later, a few of us went to Study Week, which was an absolutely inspiring week about not being ashamed of Jesus. It was a fantastic week discussing 1 Peter, having fun and singing great praise.
How far will God go to get his message across?
How far will God go to get his message across to us?
Tonight, one of our members (Andy) led us in some thoughts on Daniel 4. He began with the quote:
“There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart’s desire, and the other is to gain it.”
This is a strange thing to say. Surely the whole point of life is to get our heart’s desire? We call people successful when they have achieved what they have always wanted. But even Bill Gates said, ‘Success is a lousy teacher, it seduces smart people into thinking they can do no wrong.’
In the Bible, God consistently uses sorrow, pain or loss to get messages across to His people. This is a tough thing for us to understand. Sometimes failure can be a gift from God, a chance to acknowledge that God is God, and we are not very much at all.
Reading this chapter in Daniel is like reading the King’s Diary. It is a story of a man who reaches his human goals; he is flying high in his empire…in human terms he had everything.
And yet, at the height of his power, he was not successful in God’s terms. God decided to let him learn the hard way:
You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle…UNTIL you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. (Daniel 4:25)
What had gone wrong? Well as the next verses say, King Nebuchadnezzar was walking along speaking to himself, “Isn’t this the great Babylon I have built, by MY mighty power and for the glory of ME”.
It is God who has put him into power and it is God that can take the power away. What does it take for this highly successful man to realise that none of his success is due to himself? This man went from being #1 ruler in the world to a Mogul-like creature.
None of our ‘successes’ are due to us, they are all from God. Pride is claiming credit for ourselves when it really belongs to God.
Pride is a problem for all of us. However, though our path may be full of ups and downs, God is not finished with us yet. He will continue to work with us until we realise that we can’t put our confidence in ourselves, our houses, our money, our jobs or ‘our’ anything. To God goes the glory.