John 1:43-51, Addendum on “Friendship Evangelism”

The first time I heard the term “Friendship Evangelism” was from Joe Aldrich, president of and sone of one of the founding fathers of Multnomah School of the Bible.  Aldrich called it “Lifestyle Evangelism.”  The idea is that “evangelism” should be carried out in the normal human relationships we have in our lives.  Let us note the pattern found in this passage.

·       FOLLOW, v43.  We must be followers of Christ in order to be involved in helping others to become followers of Christ.  Philip had followed John, who pointed people to Christ through his ministry.  Thus Philip was exactly the kind of disciples John was making: one who would turn at the first opportunity away from John and into the fellowship of Christ.

·       FIND, v45.  Phillip found Nathaniel.  What Phillip did was a copying of what Jesus did in finding Philip.  Through prayer (asking God to be at work in the lives of people around us) and seeking we will find people who need Christ.  Note: we will have to go outside our Church Family to do this!

·       ENTICE, v45.  Nathaniel’s great desire was for Messiah to come.  Philip claimed he had found the Messiah.  We need to think about this.  We know that people need Christ.  Those around us may not feel this or think this themselves.  So, part of the process is to pray that God will create this hunger in people’s lives.  We need the Spirit’s leading to know when those we pray for have come to desire Christ. 

·       INVITE, v47,50.  Philip just said, “Come and see!”  When we get to John 3:15-16 we will see that faith is defined simply as looking to Jesus, the Lamb of God, even as Israel had to look at the bronze serpent to be saved.  “Look and live!”

·       ENCOURAGE, v47,50.  Jesus encouraged Nathaniel, both before (v47) and after (v50) he believed.  Nathaniel was just at the start of this journey of faith.  In “friendship evangelism” we are not only looking at our friends as needing the One we have found, and committing to a relationship as long as necessary; we are committing to friendship after they have found that One, for as long as is possible. 

This is a challenge Jesus sets before us.  Our command (Mt. 28:19-20) is to make disciples in all nations.  This process requires “friendship” over the fence, at the barbeque, in the workplace, at school and in the community.

Deuteronomy 31:16-22, Public Worship: Singing (5)

 5)    The worship of singing is one of the activities of heaven.  Rev. 5:9-10; 14:3; 15:1-4.

a)    Scripture:

i)      Rev 5:9-10: (4 creatures, 24 elders) 9And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

ii)   Rev 14:3: (144,000) 3And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

iii)            Rev 15:1-4: (those victorious over the beast) 1I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues--last, because with them God's wrath is completed.  2And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God  3and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.  4Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

6)    The worship of singing is fundamental to your salvation.  Psalm 33:3; 96:1; 144:9.

a)    Regeneration is equated to God's putting a new song in our hearts.

i)      Psalm 40:3: He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

b)    It is an continuing evidence that GOD has done something IN THE HEART, something genuine.

i)      Ps 33:3: Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

ii)   Ps 96:1: Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

iii)            Ps 98:1: Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

iv) Ps 144:9: I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

7)    The worship of singing is essential to the life and ministry of any local church.  Eph. 2:10: His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

a)    Singing gives believers an amazing means to express, from the heart, the truth about God and the believer’s love for God.  Music enables the fellowship of believers to answer the call to unity, to “speak the same thing … perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

b)    We also recognize that singing is a great tool for memorizing and meditating on the Word of God.  When God wanted the people of Israel to remember His commitment to faithfulness in keeping His promise to them, He told Moses to teach the truth to them in a song (Deut. 31:16-22,30).

We need to do as Paul said: speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 

1 Chronicles 25:1-8, Public Worship: Singing (4)

3)    The worship of singing was the practice in New Testament times.  Heb. 2:11-12; Mark 14:26; 1 Cor. 14:26; Acts 16:25.

a)    Heb 2:11-12: prophesied that Christ would not simply speak but would also SING praise to God.

b)    Mark 14:26: Christ and His disciples sang the Passover hymn.

c)    1 Cor 14:26: What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

d)    Ac 16:25: Paul & Silas singing in prison (do you think they could do it there, but when in assembly of believers they had to only sing in their hearts?)

4)    The worship of singing has been the constant experience of the church throughout history.

a)    4th Century: during Arian controversy, public singing moved from Psalms only to include hymns.

b)    1523: Martin Luther, in Ordering of Worship, emphasized the centrality of preaching in public worship, but encouraged great freedom in the details of worship.

i)      Martin Luther: I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God.  Next after theology I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor.  Next to the Word of God only music deserves to be extolled as mistress and governess of the feelings of the human heart.

c)    Thru the 17th century music and worship were nearly synonymous. 

i)      J. S. Bach was the last of the truly great composers whose emphasis was "music for worship.”

ii)   Bach composed over 300 pieces for use in the church year.

iii)            For 27 years he was music director at St Thomas' Church & School in Leipzig where he composed mini-cantatas for worship on an almost weekly basis.

d)    From the Dictionary of Church History, here is an accounting of worship music in the USA...

i)      The religious music of the United States largely parallels that of Great Britain but has enjoyed a degree of freedom from official restraint. Here the folk tradition of the Baptists surfaced and reached print in the shaped-note publications of the South, and the singing-school movement of post-Revolutionary times produced simple congregational music with a distinctive flavor. The "Gospel song" carried to Britain by such figures as Ira D. Sankey adapted the popular idiom of such writers as Stephen Foster to capture the ear of the unchurched multitudes and became the normal style of large segments of the less institutionalized churches of Protestantism.  This music possesses optimistic rhythms and exceedingly simple harmonies and lends itself readily to highly improvisatory performance.                  

ii)   An account of the religious music since World War II is almost impossible at this proximity. It remains to be seen whether the present trend toward popularization in religious music will continue, with the acceptance of a closer and closer identification with pseudo-folk and "rock" idioms, not only among younger Christians of evangelical persuasion, but in the larger historic denominations and in the Roman Catholic Church.                         

iii)            While much functional church music which goes little beyond the idioms of the late nineteenth century continues to be written, many professional church musicians are composing in styles closer to the early twentieth century.  That these are difficult for any but highly trained musicians must be conceded.  "Serious" professional composers of secular art music have never before been so far removed from the general listening public.  There is beyond question a need for devoted and gifted composers to provide leadership in this as in all eras, so that the scriptural mandate of singing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" may be fittingly fulfilled.

Ephesians 5:15-21, Public Worship: Singing (3)

The Bible Study is not complicated.  Let’s do this in outline form.

1)    The worship of singing was commanded & practiced in Old Testament times.  Psalms 51:14-15; 81:1; Neh 12:27-47.

a)    Scripture:

i)      Psalm 51:14 (David’s confession Psalm) Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.  15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

ii)   Psalms 81:1 Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!

b)    There were 3 important names in the music of Israel (1 Chron. 16:7; 25:1-7). men appointed by David to lead the choir and orchestra and to compose.  Descendants of these men continued to lead late in Israel’s history (2 Chron. 35:15), even after the return from the Babylonian captivity (Neh. 11:17).

1.    Asaph

2.    Heman

3.    Jeduthan

c)    Neh. 12:27-47: the dedication of the wall was a gigantic musical program of thanksgiving to God!!!  Surround sound!

2)    The worship of singing was encouraged in the New Testament.  Eph. 5:18-19; Col. 3:16.

a)    Scripture:

i)      Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

ii)   Colossians 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

b)    Principles from these two passages:

i)      Public    SINGING    is encouraged.

(1)                        Note: "speaking" in Eph. 5:18 is a general term that includes such things as hissing, singing.  It is not confined to giving a speech.

ii)   Public singing is a product of the    THE SPIRIT FILLED LIFE. 

iii)               VARIETY    is encouraged.  The different terms in each passage are not meant to be some grand categorizing. BUT he used more than one term because no one term would do.

(1)                        Psalms: Psalms, fr. Scripture.

(2)                        Hymns: other songs expressing praise to God.

(3)                        Spiritual songs: other music prompted by the HS.

iv) True    WORSHIP    is commanded.

(1)                        “To the Lord”: while they speak/sing to each other, it is ultimately to be Godward.

(2)                        “In your hearts”/”with grace in your hearts”: as Jesus said, true worshippers worship in Spirit & truth!!! NO HYPOCRISY.  Note: this was also an OT principle ... Lev 29:30 ... God has always wanted worship from the heart.

1 Corinthians 14:26-40, Public Worship: Singing (2)

    We said yesterday that our interest is not so much in the “style” of singing but in the “need” for singing by God’s people.  But in case you are wondering, the issue that has plagued many churches (style, contemporary vs. traditional, etc.) is not new.  In the mid 1650's the Society of Friends abandoned worship orders in favor of sitting quietly until the Spirit moved someone to speak or sing.  I have been in a “Brethren” church that practiced this.  It may seem odd, but if you attended the church regularly it was a “style” that seemed to work just fine.  In 1850 the Church of Christ side of the Campbelites abandoned all instruments, especially the organ, in their worship.  During the Reformation Ulrich Zwingli (one of my favorites, but not for this reason) took an axe to the organ at Grossmunster Church in Zurich.  I cringe thinking about this.  But he didn’t do it because he hated all musical instruments but because he objected to the opinion he had that the music was more like entertainment than worship. 

Listen to these minutes from a July 2, 1736 business meeting of the First Church of Windsor, Connecticut & see if it rings a bell...

     Society meeting, Capt. Pelatiah Allyn Moderator.  The business of the meeting proceeded in the following manner: The Moderator proposed consideration of what should be done respecting that part of Publick Worship called Singing, whether in their Publick meetings on Sabbath day, they would sing the way Deacon Marshall usually sung in his lifetime commonly called the "Old Way" or whether they would sing the way taught by Mr. Beal commonly called "Singing by Rule," and when the Society had discoursed the matter the Moderator proposed to vote. But when the vote was passed there being many voters it was difficult to take the exact number of votes in order to determine on which side the major vote was; whereupon the Moderator ordered all the voters to go out of the seats and stand in the alleys and then those that were for Deacon Marshalls way should go into the men's seats and those that were for Mr. Beals way should go into the women's seats. The Moderator asked me how many there was (for Deacon Marshall's way), I answered 42 and he said there was 63 or 64.  Then the Moderator proceeded and desired that those who were for singing in Publick the way that Mr. Beal taught would draw out of their seats and pass out of the door and be counted.  They replied they were ready to show their minds in any proper way where they were if they might be directed thereto but would not go out the door to do the same and desired that they might be led to a vote where they were and they were ready to show their minds which the Moderator refused to do and thereupon declared that it was voted that Deacon Marshall's way of singing called the "Old Way" should be sung in Publick for the future and ordered me to record the same which I refused to do under the circumstances thereof and have recorded the facts and proceedings. (From On This Day, devotional book, July 2 reading)

Nehemiah 12:27-43, Public Worship: Singing (1)

I learned to sing as a child, growing up in a “fundamental/evangelical” church.  My father was the pastor.  He led the choir.  He didn’t always have to “lead” the worship but did on occasion.  On Sunday evenings he would occasionally pull out his trombone to accompany a verse of a hymn.  The Sunday morning “worship order” was pretty standard, beginning with the “Doxology,” invocation, the “Gloria Patri,” a hymn of praise (standing), another hymn (sitting), Scripture (responsive from the back of the hymnbook), announcements, the offering, special music (usually by the choir), a third hymn (perhaps related to the sermon), the sermon and then a “closing hymn” to call people to obedience (people would be encouraged to put their faith in Christ to be saved), followed by the benediction. 

It never occurred to me that I should get bored with or tired of this pattern.  Rather, when it was our (the congregation’s) time to sing I liked to put my best effort into it.  I learned to sing parts (it helped that I had taken piano lessons).  I even liked to sing the bass, even though I was definitely in the tenor range.  We sang in every service, including Sunday evenings when there were more songs and livelier songs (and sometimes we got to pick our favorites), and also on Wednesday night when we gathered for Bible study and prayer (usually just one song of a more devotional nature).

There are a lot of people my age in the United States who can totally identify with what I just described.  There are a lot of people in the United States who have no identification at all with this weekly experience I had growing up.  These days things have changed a lot.  There are a few churches around like the one in which I came to make a public profession of faith in Christ, but for the most part it is a format that no longer exists.  Not only does it not exist; it is resisted in many situations.  In most churches it has been replaced by a different “pattern” (worship order).  If you attend one of the newer churches you might think it’s spontaneous and different every week.  But, having experience in these things, I will tell you that there is still a “worship order” in which the worship leader and his band and singers has worked very hard to bring about desired emotions and thoughts about God. 

I hope you don’t mind me reminiscing and rambling on about my experiences.  I have a purpose, which is to lead into a few posts related to that part of “public worship” that involves congregational singing.  It is not an irrelevant subject; the Bible is clear that this is a valuable practice for the body of believers.  Our concern is not with the “style of music” (although we will not be able to avoid that subject completely) but rather with the “need” for singing in the fellowship of believers.  It is our hope that this will be an encouragement to you.

Psalm 119:129-136 Pe: Commit to soul-obedience to God’s word.

The life-goal of the believer is to be like Jesus Christ (Ro. 8:29-30).  This likeness is not merely external but goes to the depth of our being.  We think like Christ; we desire what He desires.  It is a soul-likeness.

Perhaps this stanza has this in mind.  He speaks of soul-obedience to God’s wonderful testimonies (129).  Wonderful is the same word used of the Christ, the Living Word in Isa. 9:6.  Our love for and obedience to the testimonies of God is equivalent to our love for the Master.   “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

The soul in Hebrew has to do with the essential life of living creatures.  While animals are living souls (Gen. 1:20-24,30)  humans have been created in the image of God.  Thus man lives and moves out of his soul, his deepest thoughts and passions being anchored there. 

The preceding references to the “soul” in Psalm 119 have indicated man’s deep struggle in affliction (20,25,28,81,109).  His soul breaks with longing, melts with heaviness, and faints for salvation.  One may be reminded of David’s brokenness (Psalm 51) or Peter’s bitter tears (Lk. 22:62) when they came to the end of themselves.  Yet both were restored to service.  Like the Psalmist who pants for God’s commands (131) and weeps over disobedience (136), their souls were changed.  Nothing would come between them and God, neither sin (133) nor oppressor (134).  Truly their obedience was from the soul.

For this deep likeness to Christ the Psalmist prays that God’s eyes would look upon him in mercy (132) and that His face would shine upon him (135).  God does this as His word enters our lives.  It is a light (130) reaching every corner of the soul.  As Heb. 4:12-13 affirms, God’s word permeates the dividing of soul and spirit, revealing and cleansing the sin (cf. also Eph. 5:27).

Today, allow the Word to penetrate deeply as you contemplate the obedience of your soul.  Do you see hesitation, reluctance or resistance to God’s revealed will?  Confess the sins that no one else knows but you and your Lord.  Allow the light of His word to shine on you that you might truly walk in the light.  That is soul-obedience.  That is Christ-likeness.

Read 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, Meditation (7)

The testimony of the Church.

·       George Mueller’s Secret.

In his classic biography, George Mueller of Bristol, A. T. Pierson writes:

A “chance remark”—there is no chance in a believer’s life—made by the brother at whose house he was abiding at Plymouth, much impressed him. Referring to the sacrifices in Leviticus, he said that, as the refuse of the animals was never offered upon the altar, but only the best parts and the fat, so the choicest of our time and strength, the best parts of our day, should be especially given to the Lord in worship and communion. George Muller meditated much on this, and determined, even at the risk of damage to bodily heath, that he would no longer spend his best hours in bed. Henceforth he allowed himself but seven hours sleep and gave up his after-dinner rest. This resumption of early rising secured long seasons of uninterrupted interviews with God, in prayer and meditation on the Scriptures, before breakfast and the various inevitable interruptions that followed. He found himself not worse but better, physically, and became convinced that to have lain longer in bed as before would have kept his nerves weak and, as to spiritual life, such new vitality and vigour accrued from thus waiting upon God while others slept, that it continued to be the habit of his afterlife.

This is a somewhat short post today.  But perhaps it is enough to give us matters on which we ought to meditate, with a view to getting rid of the “toxic thoughts and ideas that infiltrate it every day” and establishing or increasing our determination for “private devotion.”

Read Psalm 143, Meditation (6)

The testimony of the Church.

George Mueller (1805-1898) was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England.  He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement.  Later during the split, his group was called the Open Brethren.

 

·       George Mueller’s Practice.

It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.…

Before this time my practice had been, at least for ten years previously, as a habitual thing, to give myself to prayer after having dressed myself in the morning. Now, I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed.…

The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of public ministry of the Word, not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon, but for the sake of obtaining food for my soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer. When thus I have been for a while making confession or intercession or supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it.…

By breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart.

Read Psalm 19, Meditation (5)

The testimony of the Church.

·       F. B. Meyer: Keep in Touch with Jesus.

Avoid the spirit of fault-finding, criticism, uncharitableness, and anything inconsistent with His perfect love. Go where He is most likely to be found, either where two or three of His children are gathered, or where the lost sheep is straying. Ask Him to wake you morning by morning for communion and Bible-study. Make other time in the day, especially in the still hour of the evening twilight, between the work of the day and the avocations of the evening, when you shall get alone with Him, telling Him all things, and reviewing the past under the gentle light which streams from His eyes.

 

Charles Hadden Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher.  Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, to some of whom he is known as the “Prince of Preachers.”

 

Robert Murray McCheyne was a minister in the Church of Scotland from 1835-1843.  He was born in Edinburgh on 21 May 1813, was educated at the university and at the Divinity Hall of his native city, and was assistant at Larbert and Dunipace. … McCheyne, though wielding remarkable influence in his lifetime, was still more powerful afterwards, through his Memoirs and Remains, edited by Andrew Bonar, which ran into far over a hundred English editions.  Some of his hymns became well known and his Bible reading plan is still in common use.

 

·       C. H. Spurgeon: The Blessings of Private Prayer.

Some have tried to imitate unction by unnatural tones and whines; by turning up the whites of their eyes, and lifting their hands in a most ridiculous manner. McCheyne’s tone and rhythm one hears from Scotchmen continually: we much prefer his spirit to his mannerism; and all mere mannerism without power is as foul carrion of all life bereft, obnoxious, mischievous. Certain brethren aim at inspiration through exertion and loud shouting; but it does not come: some we have known to stop the discourse, and exclaim, “God bless you,” and others gesticulate wildly, and drive their fingernails into the palms of their hands as if they were in convulsions of celestial ardor. Bah! The whole thing smells of the green-room and the stage. The getting up of fervor in hearers by the simulation of it in the preacher is a loathsome deceit to be scorned by honest men. “To affect feeling,” says Richard Cecil, “is nauseous and soon detected, but to feel is the readiest way to the hearts of others.”

Read Psalm 1, Meditation (4)

(Our biographical descriptions are from Wikipedia.)

The testimony of the Church.

Frederick Brotherton Meyer (1847-1929), a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody and A. C. Dixon, was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner-city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic. (He was a favorite of my father’s, as evidenced by several of Meyer’s books in his library which I inherited.  My father finished seminary at Louisville about the time Meyer passed away.)

 

·       F. B. Meyer on Christ our Passover.

The life of the church between the first and second advents is symbolized by the feast on that memorable night. With joy in our voices and triumph in our mien, we stand around the table where Christ's flesh is the nourishment of all true hearts, straining our ear for the first clarion notes which will tell that the time of our exodus has come. Christian people are very much too thoughtless of the necessity of feeding off God's table for the nourishment of spiritual life. There is plenty of work being done; much attendance at conferences and special missions; diligent reading of religious books; but there is a great and fatal lack of the holy meditation upon the person, the words, and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

·       F. B. Meyer on the Faith of David.

As day after day he considered the heavens and earth, they appeared as one vast tent, in which God dwelt. Nature was the material dwelling place of the eternal Spirit, who was as real to his young heart as the works of his hands to his poet's eyes. God was as real to him as Jesse or his brothers or Saul or Goliath. His soul had so rooted itself in this conception of God's presence that he bore it with him, undisturbed by the shout of the soldiers as they went forth to the battle, and the searching questions addressed to him by Saul.

This is the unfailing secret. There is no short cut to the life of faith, which is the all-vital condition of a holy and victorious life. We must have periods of lonely meditation and fellowship with God. That our souls should have their mountains of fellowship, their valleys of quiet rest beneath the shadow of a great rock, their nights beneath the stars, when darkness has veiled the material and silenced the stir of human life, and has opened the view of the infinite and eternal, is as indispensable as that our bodies should have food. Thus alone can the sense of God's presence become the fixed possession of the soul, enabling it to say repeatedly, with the psalmist, "Thou art near, O God.”

Read Luke 22:39-46, Meditation (3)

The content of meditation: New Testament.

·       1 Tim. 4:15: instruction.  What Paul refers to is in 4:1-14.  So, Timothy is called to consider Paul’s instruction to him as a young pastor.

·       Phil. 4:8: good things.  These “good things” are defined by the 8 terms.

·       Heb. 12:2-3: Christ, His passion.  Consider in v3 is the call to meditation.  We are to make this the focus to keep us from becoming discouraged in our souls.  This is right in line with what we saw in the previous post, where the Psalmists remembered the Biblical record of God’s works and then made that their communion and obsession.

·       Col. 3:1-2: Christ, heavenly things.

·       Rom. 8:5: the things of the Spirit.  Specifically, Paul seems to have in mind the “things” of 8:1-4 (what God did through Christ; it refers to His incarnation to deliver us from “the law of sin and death”).

·       2 Cor. 3:18: the glory of the Lord. 

·       2 Cor. 4:16-18: eternal things.  In both these 2 Corinthians passages, the Apostle is speaking of the new covenant ministry and what believers have in and through Christ.

·       Other New Testament thoughts:

·       Matt. 6:5-6: the “closet”.  Even if we are out in public or not in some physical closet, what is needed is to have time alone with God, tuning out the noise of the world around us and communing alone with God.  The following passages give you some of Jesus’ “closets.”

·       Matt. 14:23; 15:29: Jesus retired to hills. 

·       Mark 1:35: Jesus was meditating in the early morning hours.

·       Mark 6:31; 7:24: a quiet place.  In both these situations Jesus did not get the “quiet” He was hoping for as the crowds managed to find Him.  It tells us that getting “quiet time” was as hard in Jesus’ day as in ours. 

·       Luke 6:12: all night.

·       Luke 22:41: Gethsemane.  You can see in this story the need for time alone.  Jesus even set up His disciples where the “three” could have some time to “watch and pray.”  In the quiet, they fell asleep.  But He had gone a little further to be by Himself. 

Read Psalm 77:1-15, Meditation (2)

 

The content of meditation: Old Testament.

(The inserted numbers in a few of these items identify which of the two OT terms we spoke of in the previous post is being used in the passage.)

1.    Negative:

·       Ps. 38:12: David’s enemies “plan” deceptions all day long.  In other words, his demise is their “meditation.”

·       Prov. 24:1-2: Men who are full of envy ought to be avoided because their hearts “devise” (meditate on) violence.

·       In both these passages we can see that “meditation” has to do with what we sometimes call “obsession.” 

2.    Positive:

·       Josh 1:8: book of the law.

·       Psalm 1:2: the law of the Lord.

·       Psalm 77:12: on all Your works.  In the beginning of this Psalm of Asaph, the writer was consumed with troublesome thoughts.  His “soul refused to be comforted” (v2).  His “spirit was overwhelmed.”  His “meditation” (v6, siah) involves a “diligent search.”  The question he researches is in v7-9: will God cast Israel off forever?  He is led to the Biblical record of God’s works in the past, wondrous works on behalf of Israel.  He commits to meditating (haga) on these works, making them his “obsession” rather than the troublesome thoughts.

·       Psalm 119:15,78: in Thy precepts.

·       Psalm 119:23,48: in Thy statutes.

·       Psalm 119:148: in Thy word.

·       Psalm 143:5:  Your works (1), what your hands have done (2).  Again, we see that David’s soul is persecuted and crushed by his enemy, his spirit is overwhelmed (v3-4).  Thus, he remembers the record of Scripture, what God did in the past.  These things become his meditation.  It is the same order as in Ps. 77 above.

·       Prov. 6:22: “wisdom” will talk with them.

3.    Other thoughts:

·       Psalm 19:14: may the meditations (1) of my heart be acceptable.

·       Psalm 104:34: my meditation (2) of Him shall be sweet.

·       Psalm 63:6: in the night watches (1).

Psalm 119:121-128 Ayin: Trust God’s word when the trial is oppressive.

This stanza concerns itself with “oppression” (v121-122).  Oppression is what the strong do to the weak.  Knowing that the weak have no strength in themselves the oppressors enslave them; they hurt them; they take advantage of them.  The oppressors are proud (122).  They regard God’s law as void (126), thinking that dependence on the word of God is just part of the weakness of those they mistreat.

Is this not common in our afflictions?  We seek to live according to Scripture (121).  In fact we love God’s word (127).  But those around us consider that to be a weakness.  With pride they brashly beat the people of the Word with their own words.  We see it in the ridicule of atheists or in the words of a loved one who tells us how foolish we are to spend so much time in the Book.  The constant attacks may cause us to wear out as we seek God’s deliverance from our affliction (123).

So what are we to do?  What are God’s people to do any time they operate out of weakness?  Let us be clear that the answer is not that we are to try to beat the proud at their own game.  We are not to think that we can be more snide or brash in our words. We may engage them in honest debate, but we must not try to win by making fun of them or putting them down.

Instead we will do what the Psalmist does.  In our weakness we will plead God’s mercy (124).  Mercy is for those who know they are weak.  And God is full of mercy (Ex. 34:6-7). 

In our seeming servitude to the mighty of this world we will come to God as His servants. 

o v122: the servant of God asks God to be his surety or security.  Servants have no standing of their own and depend on the kindness of their Master to stand for them.

o v124: the servant of God asks God to be merciful, desiring only to know the will of the Master that he might follow it.  If it leads to a greater cross, so be it. 

o v125: the servant of God affirms that he is not the servant of those earthly masters who oppress him.  “I am Your servant.” 

Is the enemy oppressive?  Do you feel that you are about to cave under the pressure?  Remind yourself that this path is the one laid out for you by your Sovereign Lord.  You serve Him and Him alone.  Love His will, plead His mercy, and continue to follow Him today.

Read Joshua 1:1-9, Meditation (1)

Beginning in this post we would like to consider the Biblical approach to “meditation.”  It is a subject worth consideration Biblically as there are some concerns about the use of “Eastern” practices being encouraged in some circles.  In these posts we will give content on the “meaning” and “content” of meditation in the Bible.  Then we will give some testimonies from the Body of Christ.

The meaning of meditation:

·       Biblical terms:

1.    The term in Josh 1:8; Psalm 1:2 (haga):  to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot, speak. to meditate, devise, muse, imagine.

2.    The term in Psa. 119:15,23, etc. (siah): 1 to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing, study, ponder. to meditate, consider, put forth thoughts.

3.    The term in Rom. 6:11:  1 to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over;  2 to consider, take into account, weigh, meditate on. 3b to suppose, deem, judge. 3c to determine, purpose, decide. Additional Information: This word deals with reality. If I "logizomai" or reckon that my bank book has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise, I am deceiving myself. This word refers to facts not suppositions.

·       In the Navigators little booklet on meditation, we read: “Meditation is chewing. It is like the graphic picture of a cow and her process of mastication. Bringing up previously digested food for renewed grinding and its preparation for assimilation. Meditation is pondering various thoughts by mulling them over in the mind and heart. It is the processing of mental food. We might call it ‘thought digestion.’  ‘Chewing’ upon a thought deliberately and thoroughly, thus providing a vital link between theory and action. What metabolism is to the physical body of a cow, meditation is to your mental and spiritual life.”

·       Our concluding definition or description of meditation 1. Quiet time spent in contemplating the Word of God and in fumigating the mind of the toxic thoughts and ideas that infiltrate it every day. 2. Private devotion or spiritual exercise focused on a religious theme. 3. Spoken or written contemplative discourse delving into spiritual things.

1 Thess. 2:1-12, Remember, Repent, Repeat (5)

We’re not quite finished talking about “remembering.”  You may be surprised to see that we have little to say about “Repent” and “Repeat.”  To repent is to change one’s mind in such a way that the mind is renewed and the behavior itself is change.  To repeat means, well, to repeat!  It is interesting that it is the “mature” church (i.e. the one that has been in existence for a while, and has excelled in many ways) that needs to go back and repeat the “love” they had at first.  We might see this in the normal life of a human.  The child is full of zeal, excited, lively, but not always wise.  With adulthood comes the wisdom, and sometimes “wisdom” doesn’t exist well alongside love or zeal.  Think about some things the Lord said on this.  He valued the “humility” and “faith” of a child (Mt. 18:1-5; Luke 18:15-17).  Paul said to be like children in terms of “malice” (but not understanding, 1 Cor. 14:20).  There may be less spontaneity in an adult believer.  Perhaps things are more planned out.  But the point is that we still do those things our of our love for Christ.  “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  That is our first love!

Now, consider briefly 2 other matters.  First, I think we can see, in Paul, good examples of serving out of “first love.” 

·       1 Th 2:9: “Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”  Paul went beyond what was required so as to be gentle with people who needed to hear the gospel and put their faith in Christ.

·       1 Cor 4:17 “For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.”  Again, “first love” was a lifestyle for Paul. 

Meditate on those passages and do some “remembering” in your own life.  Then repent and repeat as the Spirit leads.

Finally, let’s consider some cautions as we engage in Spirit-led “remembering.”  As we remember the past, let us not be …

1.    Overly idealistic.

a.     About leadership, Ps. 106:7; Zech. 1:4-6.  Israel leadership, especially in the Exodus and wilderness wanderings, was not perfect.  We are not looking back to criticize the “fathers” or to blame them for our faults.  We look to them to learn so as to make right choices now.

b.    About circumstances, Num. 11:5.  Some of the Israelites looked back to the Egypt days and only remember the better food choices.  They did not remember the hardship of being slaves.  We need to be careful when we look back in history.

2.    Overly pessimistic.  These are all from Ps. 78, a Psalm that speaks of Israel’s failures so that God moved the tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh to Jerusalem.

a.     78:17,32,40: These passages speak of continued and increasing sin.  We must be realistic about the sins of the past, but learn from them.  Our goal is to be built up in the faith so as to walk faithfully.

b.    78:38-39: As we remember the sins of the past, we also need to see the grace and mercy of God in those times.

c.     78:40-42: Then we also need to see God’s power in the failures of the past.  God had done marvelous things for Israel.  Those things needed to be remembered, not just Israel’s moral failures.

We have talked a lot, maybe too much, about looking back.  But our goal has been to help use the past as an encouragement to faithfulness today and into the future.  He hope you are so encouraged!