Perspective - Lessons on Prayer
This term in our morning services, we began a series on the book of 1 Samuel. In Ch 1 we meet a woman named Hannah. Despite deep personal suffering and persecution, she remained steadfast in her relationship with God. Much of our knowledge of Hannah comes from her prayers. Preachers rarely get to say everything they want in any given sermon, so here are some further reflections from 1 Samuel Ch 1. (If you haven’t read it yet, take a moment to read it now).
Five things Hannah teaches us about prayer
1. When Hannah wanted to take action, she prayed.
Hannah had no control over her childlessness and was unable to control her cruel sister-wife Peninnah. And yet when she went to worship God at the Tabernacle, we are told she ‘stood up’. This seems an unimportant piece of information until we read in the second half of the verse that Eli the priest was ‘sitting down’. The man who was responsible for Israel’s spiritual health was passive and it was Hannah who was taking action. And yet the only thing she was able to do was to pray. What follows reminds us that prayer is never ‘just’ prayer. In a crisis, prayer is taking action. Prayer is the action of those who put their faith in God.
2. In her heartache Hannah ran towards God, not away from Him
We are told in Ch 1:5 that ‘it was the Lord who had closed Hannah’s womb’. If we ever find the one who is responsible for our suffering, we are likely to respond with anger or resentment. If the person we blame is God, then prayer becomes a problem. But Hannah had a clarity we so often lack. If God is Lord over our suffering, the only way through, is if we turn back to Him.
3. Hannah prayed with honest emotion
Hannah prayed out of her deep anguish and with many tears (v10). She was deeply troubled and poured out her soul to the Lord (v15). Hannah didn’t bring her ‘Sunday smile’ to the Lord, and she didn’t try to tidy up her feelings before she prayed. She was emotionally honest with God. And that didn’t make it a bad prayer, that made it a good prayer. Once Eli realised he had witnessed honest devotion and not drunken mutterings, he commends Hannah (v17).
4. Hannah’s prayer changed her even before God answered.
The first thing that changed as a result of her prayer wasn’t Hannah’s problem, it was Hannah herself. It was before God had answered her prayer that Hannah’s appetite returned, and her face was no longer downcast (v18). She found great comfort and relief by simply bringing her burden to God. When we entrust ourselves to the Almighty God who cares about our hardship (v11) we are no longer slaves to our circumstances. The first thing prayer does is make us reconsider the challenges we face in light of God’s love and power. Regardless of what God does or doesn’t do with your situation, draw near to Him in your suffering, and He will change you.
5. Hannah didn’t stop worshiping while she waited for her prayer to be answered.
Even before God had answered her prayer, Hannah arose and worshipped God (v19). Her love for God wasn’t conditional on God giving her what she asked for in the way she asked for it. She knew God was worthy of her praise regardless, and trusted the same promise we do, ‘that in all things we know that God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.’ (Rom 8:28) Are you willing to worship God regardless of how He answers your prayer?
There are parts of Hannah’s story which are unique to her, but there are also lessons available for every Christian. Her attitude to, and example in prayer, is one of those lessons. Both for Hannah and for us, the answer to despondency is prayer to a God who cares. We might be more familiar with this Old Testament lesson in the words of 1 Peter Ch 5:7, ‘Cast all your anxieties on the Lord, because He cares for you. Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand and He will lift you up.’
Questions for Reflection
1. What burden are you are carrying at the moment?
2. If you have not yet brought it to God, what is standing in the way?
3. Which of the above points have made prayer seem a little more possible?
Written by Scott Tubman
Perspective - The Lord our Helper
"I will lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1
Psalm 121 is the second of fifteen 'Songs of Ascents', songs designed for pilgrims to sing as they made the journey to Jerusalem and its temple for the great annual festivals as set in the Torah. Taken as a whole, the songs move us from the lament of the believer living in a fallen and hostile society (Psalm 120) to the praise of those standing in the house of the LORD (Psalm 134). Taken individually, each song invites us to reflect on the struggles that God's faithful people endure in this world and more importantly upon the fact that it is the LORD who is the true stronghold and help for those who put their trust in Him.
Psalm 121 is a declaration of faith and confidence. As the pilgrim believer travels there is a 'looking up' (vs1) above and beyond trials and dangers to the LORD who is the helper of those who look to Him (vs2). That help and protection are in fact needed is inevitable in a world filled with 'evil' (vs7). In such a world the believer's 'life' - not merely physical life but life in full, both physical and especially inner soul life - needed to be kept or protected (vs7).
The description of the sun and the moon 'striking' the pilgrim by day and night, is not a suggestion that creation itself is somehow the enemy, but rather a recognition that in this fallen world we face trials and difficulties day in and day out, and that even sleep does not necessarily mean immunity from the trials of life. Readers of the Psalm would have been familiar with this through the deployment of watchmen whose task it was to keep a careful lookout and to warn against the approach of enemies. Of course, such watchmen could not sleep on duty if those in their care were to remain safe.
With these images in mind the Psalmist proclaims the LORD as Sovereign Creator-'the maker of heaven and earth' (vs2). As Creator the LORD rules over the world and thus is well able to help those
who look to Him in times of trouble. The LORD is also the watchmen over His people, the One who 'keeps Israel' and neither 'slumbers nor sleeps' (vs4). He is thus the Creator who is powerful and present to watch over His people in all their 'going out and coming in' (vs8) i.e. every aspect of daily life and to keep them from 'all evil' (vs7). Nor are these attributes simply true of gods or God in general. For throughout the Psalm, God is called 'the LORD', the covenant keeping God of Israel, the God who brought them out of Egypt and who showed them His unfailing love and truth (see also Exodus 3 and Exodus 34).
How then does this realistic but confident Psalm speak to us today. We are not pilgrims on a journey to the ancient city of Jerusalem in Canaan. But we are pilgrims on a far greater journey than that, a journey through this fallen world and on our way to the New Creation. At times along this journey our eyes are drawn down, to our life circumstances or to the enemies that we perceive to be around us and even within us. At times like these we need to be reminded to lift up our eyes to the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth, to the LORD our helper who has come near to us in the way that we needed most of all, namely, as a Saviour from sin, death and judgement in the person of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The confidence that the Psalmist had is thus the confidence that every Christian can and should have, confidence in our ever present Lord, our powerful Creator, our gracious Saviour and Protector, the One who said "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I gave them eternal life and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand" (John 10:27-29). With this great promise in our ears and in shared faith and confidence with the writer of Psalm 121, let us therefore 'lift up our eyes', seeking "things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:2) and so doing, day by day, continue the pilgrimage to which God has called us.
Written by Mervyn Eloff
Reflections on a life now past: Winnie Madikizela Mandela
On Monday the 2nd of April 2018, Winnie Madikizela Mandela passed away.
After her husband Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island (she was separated from him for 27 years) she was kept in solitary confinement for seventeen months.
“For the first 200 days, she had no formal contact with another human being at all aside from her interrogators. The only items in her concrete cell were three thin bug-infested and urine-stained blankets, a plastic water bottle, a mug and a sanitary bucket without a handle... The only other feature of her confines was a bare electric light bulb, which burned constantly and robbed her of any sense of night or day.”*
There was much more in terms of years of isolation and torture, all part of the horror of a system which systematically dehumanised countless people because of the colour of their skin.
Many will say that she had feet of clay... just as all leaders do.
As I’ve been reflecting on her life I’m deeply saddened by what she experienced. I’m also struck by her perseverance, willingness to try to make a difference to those around her, even when the temptation to be consumed by bitterness and anger must have been overwhelming.
As a white South African and a leader in ReachSA I don’t believe any of us can just move on. Her death reminds us of the deep scars, the tragedy and hurt caused by a wicked sinful system the results of which are experienced to this day by those in all our churches.
This is therefore an important time for those of us who love the Lord Jesus to reflect deeply on these things and how in the light of that we should relate to people around us, how we use this as an opportunity to serve and reach out in love.
I can’t change the past, neither can you, but I ask you along with me, to commit to living Spirit filled, repentant lives, that would bring healing, restoration and justice to our land, remembering that the great gathering of Revelation 7:9-10, people from every nation, tribe, people and language will be gathered before The Throne in worship.
That begins here and now in this life.
That will bring honour to Christ.
Written by Bishop Alan Noble
Perspective - Once for All
“…He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Hebrews 9:26 - ESV)
The Greek word hapax, translated in our Bibles as ‘once for all’ is a favourite word in the letter to the Hebrews, especially in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews, Jesus our great High Priest, is said to have “appeared once for all” (Incarnation – 9:26), “offered Himself once for all” (Atonement – 7:27; 10:10) and “entered the holy place (i.e. heaven itself) once for all” (Resurrection and Ascension – 9:12 cf 9:24). And in this way, He and He alone has secured full salvation (forgiveness, redemption and sanctification) for all who come to God through Him.
In Hebrews 9:26, the verse quoted above, the focus is upon both Incarnation and Atonement. It reminds us that Christmas and Easter should never be divided in our thinking. For Jesus came into our world in order to die for our sins and Jesus could not have died for our sins if He had not been willing to share our humanity and enter our world. We find exactly the same idea in Hebrews 2:17 where we read:
“Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
Hebrews 9:26 however also reminds us of three important theological truths: First, it reminds us that with the coming of Jesus into our world, God acted in a decisive and indeed in a final way. This emphasis is there right at the beginning of Hebrews where the writer speaks of Jesus as God’s authoritative and final Word to the world (1:1) and then goes on to speak about Jesus’ finished work upon the cross where He made purification for sins (1:3). The point that the writer makes at the beginning of the letter and continues to stress throughout is simple and vitally important for us to hear, especially in our relativistic, pluralistic culture. Now that Jesus has come, there is no other way by which God can truly be known. He is God’s ‘once for all’ way back to God! The gospel message about Jesus is thus a message not just for Christians but for the world!
Secondly, Hebrews 9:26 reminds us that time is running out. It is striking that what we would often refer to as the first coming of Jesus is described as having taken place at ‘the end of the ages’.
The point is that Jesus’ death on the cross changes everything including the course of history and final destiny of this world. History is controlled by God and is centred around His great purpose in His Son Jesus. But the fact that Jesus came and died at the ‘end of the ages’ means more than that. It means that the death of Jesus determines the final destiny of every single human being, no matter who they are. It is for this reason that the next verses, Hebrews 9:27-28, remind us that “it is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgement” and that “...Christ will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.” Once Jesus appears there will be no opportunity to deal with the guilt of our sin. We either deal with it now, through the death of Jesus, or we will have to face the judgement due for our sin when He returns.
Thirdly, Hebrews 9:26 reminds us that no-one has to stand before Jesus unforgiven on the day of judgement. From beginning to end, Hebrews announces the glorious truth that is seen in 9:29. Jesus appeared once for all at the end of the ages so that sin may completely and irreversibly ‘put away’ i.e. put away by God so that sin is no longer held against those who trust in Christ. The great transaction is this: Jesus sacrificed Himself as a substitute in the place of sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that we who trust in Him as our great High Priest and perfect sacrifice, may escape God’s just judgement and know God’s glorious salvation. Just before His death upon the cross, Jesus cried out “it is finished” (John 19:30), a victorious declaration that sin had been paid for, once for all. All that remains is for each of us to put our trust in Him and to keep trusting in Him alone. This is the other major theme of the letter to the Hebrews – a reminder to each believer to keep on persevering in the faith, to keep on encouraging one another to persevere and, wonderfully, to keep on drawing near to God in Jesus’ name and in full assurance of faith so that we may find help and strength for our daily walk with Him.
Written by Mervyn Eloff
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” This is the famous Easter greeting used by Christians all over the world. It’s a wonderful phrase for Easter Sunday as it reminds us that in Jesus, there really is life beyond this broken world. And so, these are words to encourage each other, especially when life gets hard. When Job was caught in the most horrendous suffering, one thing that kept him sane was the knowledge that God was able to bring him life beyond the grave.
‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!’ (Job 19:25-27)
This is the difference the resurrection makes. Even after death has done its worst, there is a new body, a new place, and a new life for those who trust in Christ. The effect this had on Job is that ‘his heart yearned within him.’ Even in his darkest hour (or perhaps because of his darkest hour) he felt his heart reaching out for what Jesus brings us today. Regardless of our circumstances, we all share this yearning with Job. C.S. Lewis famously said, 'If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.' How right he was, and it is the resurrection of Jesus that confirms this logic. The effect Easter Sunday should have, is to make you yearn for your new body, long for the new creation, rejoice that your Redeemer lives and take heart while you wait.
Written by Scott Tubman
Don’t be HoodWinked this Easter
The cross was not a sad mistake, as some may think, but crucial to the mission of Jesus.
At the cross, Jesus made a once-for-all sacrifice for the sins of the world. He made propitiation to God for all the sins of all of God’s people throughout all the ages.
Jesus’ death is central to Christianity.
The symbol for Christianity, is not an empty tomb or a dove, but a cross.
The importance of the cross may seem self-evident, but a characteristic of prosperity preachers, with their false theology and ”victorious” version of Christianity, is that they downplay the importance of the cross. They speak about victory, anointing and breakthrough; but they seldom speak about the sin-bearing death of Jesus.
This is not too surprising, as they never speak about sin or the wrath of God on sin. It follows that there is no need to speak about Jesus’ death as a propitiation for sin.
Many churches, pastors and religious practitioners talk about “alignment”, “spiritual birthing” and “covering” (I don’t know what any of those terms mean), but they don’t talk about sin.
If you don’t talk about sin, you won’t talk about the very reason Christ came – to shed his blood for sin.
Sin is the creature telling the Creator to get lost.
Sin is our impulse to forego the joy of serving and obeying the One who knows what’s good for us.
Sin is the fish thinking he does not need water.
The bottom line of all sin is wanting to run my life my way.
The just consequence for our sin against an infinitely Holy God is for the infinitely holy God to infinitely pour out his wrath on us – that’s justice.
But God is his great kindness pours out his wrath on Jesus, at the cross, so that we may be forgiven and have eternal life.
Instead of preaching about penal substitutionary atonement (Christ died for you), prosperity preachers preach about sowing your seed (Give more to gain more blessing).
Evangelical Christians agree that Jesus is the victorious King who gives us victory, but maintain that Jesus is the King who achieved his greatest victory on the cross. Not to destroy sickness, average-income and low self-esteem, but to propitiate or placate God’s great anger at sin.
We certainly do believe in victorious Christianity.
We certainly do believe that in Jesus we have “overcome the world” (1 John 5:5).
But that does not mean that as Christian people we don’t have trouble, hardship, average days, low-income, bad health, depression and struggle.
No. It means that Christian people can know that, during struggle and depression, the world no longer enslaves, dominates or deceives them.
Jesus has won the victory for us on the cross and we share in that victory over the world, the devil and death.
We look forward to total victory one day in the future in the renewed universe when we reign with Jesus – where there will be no death, sin or devil.
A Christian is therefore someone who acknowledges that Jesus is King, but the King who died for sin.
The prosperity “gospel” promoters have no concept of how bad sin really is, nor any concept of the great victory of Jesus over sin at the cross.
As we celebrate the cross of Christ this Easter, don’t be hoodwinked.
Written by Andre Visagie
Perspective - Facing Hardship
“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons” (Hebrews 12:7)
Like the residents of any major city, residents of Cape Town can expect not only to enjoy the beauty and blessings of our city but also to face trials and hardships of many kinds. Sometimes these hardships and trials are self-inflicted. At other times they are the result of events which are totally out of our control. Most often however, both factors are in play and the hardship we are facing comes to us as a combination of circumstance and folly.
The present water crisis facing the Cape seems to me to be an example of the latter. On the one hand we have had inadequate rain for three years running. On the other hand, there has been a failure by the authorities (both national and provincial) to make adequate and timeous provision for growing demand. Thirdly, we as residents have been wasteful in our attitude to water. Whatever the reasons though, we find ourselves facing hardship. The question is: how do we as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ respond to this hardship and indeed to any hardship that we may face? Hebrews 12:7-11 gives us one important answer to this question.
As we look at this passage in its context, it is clear the particular hardship that the writer had in mind was persecution because of the gospel. This is the opposition that Jesus Himself faced (Hebrews 12:3) and it was certainly the opposition that the readers were experiencing. The principle that these verses sets out remains true however, whatever the particular hardship that we are facing as believers. So, what are some of the lessons worth bearing in mind when we face hardship?
Lesson number 1: Remember that God is absolutely in control, no matter what situation we may be facing. This point is implicit rather than explicit in our passage, but it remains valid. In these verses the writer makes it clear that God uses the hardships we face for a good purpose. But this must surely mean that He is in control of the situation, because to use a situation for a specific and intentional purpose one must be able to control the situation.
Lesson number 2: Hardship does not negate God’s love for us, rather it is part of the way that God loves us. This is not to say that God causes hardship or is the author of things that are evil. But the writer is quite clear that in permitting hardship in our lives God has not ceased to love us or to treat us as His children. Note the statement in verse 7: “God is treating you as sons!” We know this even at a human level of course – sometimes we permit our children to face tough times because we love them and are working to see them grow and flourish. We should therefore never listen to the lies of the devil when he suggests that we are facing hardship because God does not love us or because God is punishing us in some malicious way. God views His people through the righteousness of His Son Jesus and we are always loved in Christ.
Lesson number 3: God always uses hardship for our good, never to harm or destroy us. God is referred to as the ‘father of our spirits’ in verse 9. This description is deliberate and is meant to invoke the idea of a loving, caring Heavenly Father. The same verse says that God through hardship is acting to train us (discipline here is training not punishment) for our good, that is our spiritual good which is described here as “a harvest of righteousness and peace” (verse 11).
Lesson number 4: Because God loves us He is much more concerned about our holiness than our happiness! The American dream may include the pursuit of happiness as self-evident, but the Bible does not. The Bible is far more realistic than that because it knows that even though we are saints (i.e. God’s people) we remain fallen people and sometimes we find happiness in things that are not ultimately for our good. Wealth may make us happy, but it makes very few holy. Poverty is not a virtue however, so we should not make the opposite mistake. Rather, recognizing that everything comes from God as a gift, we should work hard, be wise and remain thankful and generous, knowing that godliness with contentment is great gain. This leads to lesson number 5.
Lesson number 5: In the midst of hardship we should pray. We are free to pray for the Lord to act and to remove the difficulty and in His time, He may well do that. Certainly, to return to the present water crisis we should pray for rain and for wisdom for those who manage our precious resources. We should also act with care as befits good citizens. But as long as the hardship remains, we should pray that God our loving Father will help us to discern His good and wise hand in the trial and hardship and produce in us that harvest of righteousness and peace which is both for our good and for His glory!
Written by Mervyn Eloff
How (not) to let your heart accuse you
A long-lost relative of an eccentric New York heiress, stood to inherit 19 million pounds (R320 million) of her 300 million POUND fortune. Unfortunately, the relative, Timothy Gray – a homeless man, age 60, was found dead from hypothermia under a bridge in rural Wyoming, in the US.
Timothy Gray was a millionaire but didn’t know it.
He ended up dying outside in the cold.
The Apostle John in his letter of 1 John said that Christian people must know what they have in Christ, and not forget it.
If Christians forget what they have in Christ, they will be like Timothy Gray, and miss out on many good things, such as Christian assurance and Christian confidence before God.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. (1 John 3:19-20)
John wants Christians to know that they are of the truth – that they are Christians!
Is it not true, that very often we doubt that we are real Christians?
Our hearts often condemn, convict and accuse us before God?
As Christian people, who have turned away from sin and have trusted in Jesus, we very often still feel condemned by God.
Our hearts remind us of our past, our failings, our weaknesses, and our sins. Our own hearts say, “How can you possibly be a Christians?!”
Satan, the Accuser
The Devil is called the Accuser in the Bible, because his primary role is to accuse people before God.
Satan says to God, “You see Andre Visagie. He is a great sinner. You cannot allow him into your holy presence. God, your justice demands that Andre Visagie must die and bear your judgment.”
And Satan is quite right.
However, in Revelation 12, it says that Satan, the Accuser, has been cast down from heaven by the blood of the Lamb (the death of Jesus).
Jesus, the Lamb of God, died not for his own sin and rebellion against God, but for mine.
Jesus died to bear God’s judgment for the sins of others.
When I trust in Jesus my sins are forgiven by God on the grounds of Jesus’ death for me.
Satan is now cast down; he has lost his ammunition; he can no longer accuse Christians before God.
However, Satan has a good co-worker, our very own hearts.
Our accusing hearts
Our own hearts seek to condemn us before God.
Our hearts say things to us like, “What kind of a Christian are you? You messed up again, you can’t possibly be a Christian. Look at those successful Christians over there, you are so pathetic. Why don’t you just give up?”
As a result, we lack assurance and we feel ashamed before God. We run from God, instead of to God.
Often that sense of shame drives us, not only away from God, but to more sin. We then feel even more shame, which drives us to more sin….and the vicious downward cycle of sin-shame-sin continues.
Our hearts act as Satan’s co-workers.
What we need is to remind ourselves of the truth of the gospel.
We need to remind ourselves that God has declared us righteous in Jesus, not because of what we’ve done or not done, but because of what Jesus has done for us.
Does your heart condemn you as a Christian?
Does your heart remind you of all your failings and the greatness of your past sins?
Please tell your heart that you are actually much worse than what your heart thinks.
Please tell your heart that God knows everything (v20), he knows even more of your sins and failings.
And please tell your heart that God is greater than your heart. (v20)
Even though God knows all your sins, God has given his Son to propitiate those sins, so that you may be declared righteous in his sight.
Remind yourself of the gospel.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a great Christian Reformer in the 1500’s
In a dream, Martin Luther found himself being attacked by Satan.
The devil unrolled a long scroll containing a list of Luther’s sins, and held it before him. On reaching the end of the scroll Luther asked the devil, “Is that all?”
“No,” came the reply, and a second scroll was thrust in front of him.
After the second came a third, and fourth, and fifth scroll.
Luther asked, “Is that all my sins?” The devil replied, “yes”.
“You’ve forgotten something,” Luther said, “Quickly write on each of the scrolls, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son, cleanses us from all sins.’”
God is greater than our hearts. If God has forgiven us, who is our heart to condemn us?
Maybe you feel ashamed or unworthy?
Perhaps you want to run and hide from God?
Possibly you’ve made a terrible mistake or committed a terrible sin?
John, the Apostle of Christ, wrote these words to you:
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)
If you have sinned, you should stop sinning.
Say sorry to God and turn from sin, because we are children of the light, not children of darkness.
But don’t let your heart condemn you.
God is greater than your heart, and he knows everything.
*Thanks to Mervyn Eloff for his very helpful insights and sermon on this passage.
Perspective - Gospel Remembrance
“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm”(Deuteronomy 5:15)
The words quoted above are taken from the Sabbath Commandment and call upon Israel to keep the Sabbath in remembrance that it was the LORD who redeemed them from Egypt by His power, not they who rescued themselves. Rest from work is thus a reminder to rest in God’s saving work on behalf of His people (see also Exodus 31:13). This same idea is of course picked up in relation to the gospel and the finished work of Christ in Hebrews 3:7-4:13. Jesus invited those who labour and are heavy laden to come to Him in order to find rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30).
Throughout the Bible this idea of remembrance is important. Time and time again, in the words of Moses and of the Prophets, God’s people are commanded to remember the LORD. What is striking however is the fact that the first use of the word ‘remember’ is in relation to God not people. Thus, is Genesis 9:15 God says that whenever He sees the rainbow, He will remember His covenant with Noah. In Exodus 2:24 we read that “the LORD remembered His covenant with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.” In both cases it is clear that this remembrance means that the LORD is about to act in fulfilment of His Covenant, not that He had suddenly recalled something which He had momentarily forgotten. Thankfully, God does not suffer from short or long-term memory loss! And as we look at the commands for God’s people to remember the LORD we discover likewise that the call to remember is always a call to act in the light of who God is and what God has done for His people, especially His action in redeeming them from slavery. Thus, we find a call to remember God’s redeeming power in the midst of the Ten Commandments. Obedience is always a response to who God is and what He has done for us.
How then does the repeated command to Ancient Israel to remember the LORD apply to us as Christians? Part of the answer lies in seeing the link between Israel’s redemption out of Egypt and our liberation from the penalty and the power of sin. This link is made many times in the New Testament especially by Jesus (John 8:31-36) and by Paul (e.g. Romans 6:1-14). Both Jesus and Paul teach us that as those who have put their faith in Christ we are now free – not free to live as we like but rather free to live for the glory of the One who has freed us at the cost of His own life. So, what is Gospel remembrance?
First, gospel remembrance looks back at the death and resurrection of Jesus and rests in His finished work for our salvation. The truth is that we cannot earn our salvation in any way and any effort to do so whether via religion or charity or morality ends up being both useless and an insult to the Lord. If we were able to save ourselves then Jesus would not have had to die for us. So, let us remember what Christ has done for us and trust in His finished work alone as the basis of our acceptance with God. God blesses us daily in His grace not because of who we are or because of what we have done (or failed to do) but because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Let’s remember that and live as those who stand daily under the grace of God.
Second, gospel remembrance looks back at the death and resurrection of Jesus and in the light of them determines to live a life of holiness and righteousness. Throughout the Old Testament the Israelites were reminded to look back at what the LORD had done for them and therefore to be different from the nations round about them. This difference in the light of what the Lord has done is what the Bible means by holiness. To be holy is to be set apart for the Lord and to be different from the world – in that order. Holiness is not difference from the world just for difference sake. It is difference for the Lord’s sake. And thus, it is difference only in those things in which the Lord requires us to be different. We may differ from others in all sorts of way and for all sorts of reasons, but these differences do not constitute our holiness as Christians. Holiness does not consist of not conforming or for that matter conforming to the standards of other people, no matter how well-meaning or sincere they may be or how zealous we may be. Nor is it a mere conformity or non-conformity to religious tradition, no matter how ancient or well-intentioned or how modern and popular. Holiness is to be like Christ in any and every area in which we are called to Christ-likeness. This is why true holiness is only possible in the power of the Spirit of God at work in every one of God’s people.
So, as we move into this new year let us remember the Lord and all that He has done for us. And in the light of these things, let us trust Him wholeheartedly and follow Him gladly.
Written by Mervyn Eloff
Perspective - The Radical Disciple
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” Mark 8:34 (2011 NIV)
Some years ago, I came across John Stott’s book entitled the Radical Disciple. I love reading anything that Dr Stott wrote, but I was particularly attracted by the title of this little book. Two things struck me as I thought about it. First, I was reminded that being a disciple of Jesus is not for the faint-hearted or the half-hearted. Discipleship requires full commitment and real courage, every day. Second, I was challenged to think about my own walk with the Lord. Could I in all honesty say: “I am a radical disciple”?
The word ‘radical’ has a range of usages and meanings in our contemporary language. It in fact derives from the Latin word ‘radix’ meaning ‘root’. In this most basic sense, the radical disciple is the disciple who has taken hold of the fundamentals, the root of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. What are those fundamentals? Well, they could not be expressed in a clearer way than in the words of Jesus in Mark 8:34. A radical disciple is someone who imitates Jesus in the daily act of self-denial and cross carrying.
First, think about the radical disciple as someone who imitates Jesus in the daily act of self-denial. In Philippians 2:6-8 Paul describes a series of self-denying acts by the Lord Jesus who, though He was and is God, chose to enter our world as a human being and humbled Himself even to the point of dying on the cross for us. In the temptation narratives in the Gospels and again in the account of Gethsemane we read how Jesus constantly denied His own desires and resisted the temptations of the devil in order to offer full and perfect obedience to God and to express perfect trust in God. In the same way, as disciples, we are called to trust God in everything, to say ‘No’ to what is wrong no matter how desirable it may be, not just for the sake of saying ‘No’ but rather for the purpose of saying ‘Yes’ to something better. For Jesus, self-denial was always in the interests of doing His Father’s good and perfect will. And so, it should be for us. This is surely what Jesus meant when He said, “whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” Mark 8:35. We gain far more through the right kind of self-denial than we lose, and we lose everything if we are simply committed to self-indulgence.
Second, think about the radical disciple as someone who imitates Jesus in the act of carrying the cross. For Jesus this meant literal crucifixion for the salvation of the world. By His death upon the cross our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled to God. Jesus the Son of Man, the One to whom all authority had been given by the Father, came “not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). For many 1st century disciples and for many disciples down the ages carrying the cross meant persecution and death. But there is more to it than this. We carry the cross when we put others and in particular the salvation of others first. We carry the cross when we give up something that we enjoy in order to serve the needs of someone else. Husbands carry the cross when they love their wives sacrificially, putting their needs above their own. We carry the cross when we risk a friendship in order to have a gospel conversation with someone. We carry the cross when we stand up for truth or righteousness in a world where anything goes or when standing up for Jesus results in ridicule and rejection. We carry the cross when we devote ourselves to prayer. We carry the cross when we give generously and sacrificially to gospel work, seeking no recognition but only to please the Lord who richly gives us all things to enjoy. We carry the cross when we decide to turn down promotion so that we can have more time for family or serving at church. We carry the cross whenever we seek the kingdom of God first and put our own agenda beneath His plans and purposes for our lives. Put in other words, we carry the cross whenever we die to self in order to live for Christ.
Self-denial and cross carrying is without doubt radical discipleship, discipleship ‘at its root’ as it were. But since it is discipleship at its root, it is also ordinary, normal discipleship. And thus, we note that radical discipleship is not for the elite, but for every disciple. It is discipleship for you and for me. May God grant that it may indeed be said of each of us: “There is a radical disciple of Jesus”.