Three appearings of our Lord Jesus in Hebrews

I am sure these thoughts will probably not be new to most people but as I have been looking at Hebrews recently I was reminded of these thoughts and thought I would share them here with you now. Here is the section I have been interested in:

Hebrews 9:24-28  For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

I have been enjoying thinking of these in the following way; PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE.

PAST - There can be no doubting the fact that as verse 26 states, Christ has appeared in order to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. This is incredible and should thrill us and encourage us as we live our lives for him! There was a time when God came down into this world, as a man amongst men! Great is the mystery of godliness (1 Tim 3:16) that God was manifest in the flesh... this indeed should never cease to amaze us! Our verse in Hebrews however tells us the reason why he came, to put away sin. Other verses reinforce this mission, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15) and indeed this was the reason for this first appearing - so that he might deal with the question of sin and make a way of salvation for us. As the verse tells us though, it involved the sacrifice of himself! Remember that the sacrifices of old were all about the shedding of blood, in order to answer the claims of God against sin. Leviticus 17:11 tells us that it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul, and so it is with the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Of course the difference between these sacrifices is made clear in our verses, he only needed to appear ONCE to put away sin, this is a once and forever final act that does not need to be ever repeated! We are reminded again of the superiority of our Lord Jesus Christ and the perfect completeness of that work on the cross.

PRESENT - The great news for the believer is that today the Lord Jesus lives and is in the presence of God where he ever lives to make intercession for us (Romans 8:34), what a wonderful truth is this! Even today he is concerned with us, his people. This is his great occupation now, he appears in the presence of God on our behalf, where he gives us grace to help us in time of need and presents our prayers before God for us. Hebrews teaches us that he is our Great High Priest, and we should look through this book to learn more about what that means, it will certainly encourage us! I also find it lovely to think that our Saviour has passed into heaven itself, into the presence of God the place from where he had came. He returned home! He tells us in John 14 that he is preparing a place for us, those who have trusted in him for salvation, his blood-bought people.

FUTURE - I like that the Word of God distinguishes this third appearing from the other two. Not now is he appearing to deal with sin (like in the first) or to carry our burdens or intercede for us (as in the second), but now he appears to bring to full salvation those who are looking for and expecting the imminent return of the Lord Jesus. I certainly believe that this is referring to the Rapture, or the second coming of Christ, as outlined in 1 Thess 4:16-17 and as the lord himself promised in John 14:3. There is lots to cheer the believer here, as we have this lovely promise brought before us again - our future is with him! He is coming to take us home to be with him, surely there can be no better prospect than this?! Remember the words of Paul that he desired to be with Christ which is far better... We have a challenge here as well though, as the words in the AV rendered look for him should better read eagerly, constantly and patiently waiting for and expecting Him (AMP)... I wonder if we are truly marked by that eager expectancy, or by that daily state of mind that looks forward to his second appearing? This has been an immense challenge to me, as all too often the daily grind of life and the distractions of the world can easily overcome our spiritual vision and focus. Let us be challenged once again and set our lives in order, in accordance with that truth, that Christ is coming again, and quickly!

I trust that these few simple thoughts will be a blessing, challenge and encouragement to us all.

Yours in Christ, Mark.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our...

...passover

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

...peace

Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

...Saviour

2Ti 1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: (Past - his first coming to bring about salvation)

Tit 3:6  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; (Present - he equips us with the Holy Spirit for our blessing and benefit)

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Future - in relation to his coming again to take us to be with Him)

...Lord

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

...life

Col 3:4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

...our hope

1Ti 1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

Just a few simple scriptures for your consideration and hopefully you will enjoy adding your own thoughts to these headings! I certainly enjoyed thinking about all that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us, by looking at these scriptures and appreciating afresh everything we have been brought into and blessed with as believers.

Yours for His glory, Mark

Some more morning meditations...

The final post in our short series will take is to a morning on the sea-shore...

A morning on the sea-shore (John 21:1-12)

Notice that Peter is first to act as always! He proclaims "I go a fishing", and this is despite having already seen the risen Lord! Perhaps inactivity bothered Peter, and maybe a little doubt and uncertainty had sent in? Peter's reaction is to do something, and here he returns to what he knew best - fishing! I find this interesting as the Lord had told them specifically when he called them that their days of fishing were behind them - "I will make you fishers of men". Also, remember that Peter had said previously "we have left all, and followed thee", this included the family fishing business! Notice how quickly they are able to find a boat however, no doubt Peter's previous contacts would have assisted him there - "they went forth, and entered into a ship immediately". The other thing apparent from this is how Peter is seen to be an influencer, as the other disciples quickly follow him. There are no doubt some practical lessons to be learned here;

• It is easy to fall back into old ways, no matter how well we have walked with the Lord!


• The world will readily welcome us back, always too ready to see a believer fail and return to its snare!


• Finally, we must be careful how we behave, and the decisions we make as we may influence and stumble other believers!

However, despite a team of experienced fishermen toiling all night, they catch nothing. Notice that come the morning, the Lord appears on the shore - he is never far away from his people, and he is always there at the right time! He calls to them "children have ye any meat?" it is a lovely address, affectionate and perceptive, he knows the questions to ask of us! Of course the Lord knew the answer to any question he poses, he merely asks to challenge and provoke a response. Remember that the Lord Jesus had shown his authority and command of the seas of Galilee on several other occasions, he was the almighty creator of heaven and earth, he knew those waters and the animal life within intimately like no other master fisherman, and he had full command over them! I think here the Lord wanted to bring his disciples closer to him, for fellowship and communion, to focus them once more on things spiritual before he ascends and leaves them. Perhaps we are the same, maybe we are too easily distracted and need to be brought close once again to the Saviour and focus once again on eternal and spiritual things?

I would like to draw this short post to a close by just bringing something else out from this morning scene by the sea-shore, something a little different that I hadn't noticed before but I feel there is an application to be made here. Perhaps there is a small and simple picture here of that coming day when as the hymn writer says, "we'll all gather home in the morning, on the banks of the bright jasper sea, we'll meet the redeemed and the faithful, what a gathering that will be!" I am referring of course to that time when we shall leave this world and meet the Lord Jesus, whether one by one through the means of death, or all together if we go by the rapture, when the Lord shall come again - "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."

The night for those disciples had been long, exhausting and full of disappointments, a fitting picture perhaps of our time in this dark world, but note there was something better to come - "but when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore". The morning comes, and the Lord himself is there to greet them, and what a welcome greeting! You can almost hear the joy in the exclamation of John - "it is the Lord!" and Peter once again acts first, he was first to get into the boat, now he is first to get out of it as he runs to meet the Lord! I am reminded of the verse in 1 Thessalonians 4 - "for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven... to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" What a wonderful and lovely prospect for the believer! I trust this brings encouragement to the heart of every true Christian, that no matter how long, lonely and difficult the night seems, there will be a joyful morning when we shall all finally meet the Lord and spend eternity with him!

I trust these simple thoughts will bring us joy and encouragement as we journey together toward that coming meeting.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Some more morning meditations...

Following on from our short post the other day we are going to continue with our 'morning scenes' and look at...

A morning at the cross (Mark 15:1, 20, 22, 25)

Here was a morning like no other; many mornings had been before, and many since but not like this one! Unique due to the events unfolding just outside Jerusalem, this morning stands apart in history. This was a morning that would see the very Son of God journey to Calvary bearing his cross and giving his life for the sinner!

Mark, the vibrant and dynamic chronicler can only express this event simply yet poignantly using just 10 words; "and it was about the third hour, and they crucified him". Oh the wonder of it! That the very eternal Son of God would come to this earth, step into this scene of time and be subject to hours and days, mornings and nights, weeks and years! And that there should ever be an hour, at approximately 9am on that day, when he would be taken and crucified. What a tremendous truth this is, one that is too much for us to take in and understand - but we believe it! We thank God for the death of Christ at the cross of Calvary, because of this we are saved!

The account in Mark uses the phrase "they crucified him" thus emphasising the role and guilt of man in those events. Yes this was the divine plan, God was playing out his sovereign and permissive will in the events at Calvary but nevertheless, wicked men were the willing agents - a truth which is born out in the preaching in the early Acts where people like Peter boldly proclaimed the guilt of those Jews, to convict them of their sin and their need for repentance (Acts 2:23, 3:15). Just as a side note, I trust that when we publicly preach the Gospel or indeed witness to others, that we do preach about sin and how men must repent toward God in order to be saved! It is all very well preaching about the love of God and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, but the message is somewhat incomplete unless we tell men they are sinners and that they need to repent and come before God humbly for forgiveness! We have the authority of the Word of God for this, and true repentance is crucial if men are to be saved.

Praise God that this morning at the cross was eventually followed by a morning at the tomb - a morning of resurrection! I'm reminded of the words of the hymn - "He arose, he arose, Hallelujah! Christ arose!" I find it interesting that the Apostles in those early days of the Church, also preach this truth as they addressed the people, how important it is to preach a risen Saviour! He's alive today and is ascended and at God's right hand in majesty and power! How crucial this truth is to our faith, that the Lord Jesus rose, the work was complete and perfect and God has received him back into heaven, where he ever lives to make intercession for us. I hope we believe this and maintain this truth vigorously. It should encourage us and fill us with joy, hope and cheer as we seek to serve the risen Saviour. We close by thinking of the majestic words of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1:18 "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen..."

Yours in Christ, Mark

New blog post - Christ the spotless Nazarite (2b)

I have been enjoying this mini study so much recently, so I have decided to add some more thoughts to this subject - remember we were looking at the Nazarite condition that stipulated that he must abstain from touching that which came from the vine. Wine and the fruit of the vine speaks primarily in the scriptures of joy.

You may recall that last time in my blog post here in early February we were thinking about how there is very little said about the Lord Jesus in relation to joy in the scriptures. This is for good reason as it was prophesied that he would be characterised by sorrow and grief whilst down here, and not by joy. Let me balance my comments however by making it clear that I don't believe the Lord appeared to be down-hearted or unhappy, no that's not what I am saying. I am simply looking at what the scriptures tell us prophetically regarding his character and drawing some thoughts from this. Let's be clear that his character was of course wonderfully and perfectly balanced and even, of course we believe that. However his earthly service down here was not for pleasure or enjoyment or marked by levity, the scriptures tell us so! We can think of how he brought so much joy to others though, at all stages of his life, and we do praise God afresh that he was wiling to be the "man of sorrows" and "bear our griefs and carry our sorrows" so that our "joy might be full"!

However, I have been thinking recently that there are three things I believe spoken of in the scriptures that bring joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus, and I share them here for our mutual encouragement and to warm our hearts towards the Saviour.

When a sinner repents (Luke 15:7-10)

"there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth"

How wonderful to think that when we repented of our sin and trusted Christ as our Saviour there was joy in the very presence of God and his angels in heaven! Something that undoubtedly also brought joy to the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ!

A life of faithful and fruitful service (Matthew 25:21-23)

"thou hast been faithful over a few things... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord"

Again, we marvel that ever our contribution and service down here should ever bring joy to the Lord! But this is the truth of it, there is joy for Him at the end of a life of faithful and loyal service and surely this should encourage us in our lives for Him, no matter how meagre or paltry our service may seem to us, it brings pleasure, glory and joy to the heart of God!

My third and final example comes from Hebrews 12:2

"Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame." (NLT)

I have quoted the New Living Translation here as it seems to more accurately convey the meaning here but the Amplified also says "he for the joy (of obtaining the prize...)" so we must ask ourselves; what is the prize he endured to obtain? What is the joy that awaits him?

Fellow believers, I believe that this is you and I. We are the prize and the joy for which he was prepared to endure the cross of Calvary, wonderful thought! I refer you to Isaiah 53:11 "he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied" or as the New Living Translation puts it; "when he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied."

I thought of the lovely words of that great hymn;

He and I in that bright glory,

One deep joy shall share,

Mine to be forever with him,

His that I am there.

Surely this should move our hearts to give thanks and worship Him? Consider that there is joy for the Saviour the day we came to know him as Saviour; he has joy as a life of faithful service for him is reviewed; and as he looks over the countless myriads of souls in heaven in his presence, ransomed and bought by his precious blood at Calvary, yes there is joy too and satisfaction for his soul! The soul that was poured out unto death, the man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief in his life on earth obtains much joy from the sinner that repents and believes on Him, this is a wonder indeed!

I trust these simple thoughts will compliment and complete the previous post and that we will all enjoy them and be encouraged as we continue to worship and serve our great Saviour.

Yours in Christ, Mark

Onwards and upwards in 2013

I've been challenged recently by Phil 3:14 about pressing on and making spiritual progress in 2013. The verse reads "I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upwards" Amplified Version. I trust that the challenge is something for all of us, no matter what stage we are at in our Christian pathway.

The Apostle has in mind here in this verse a future day of reward, what the Bible calls the Judgement Seat of Christ (Rom 14:10, 2 Cor 5:10). The Authorized Version is slightly misleading here, as the prize that Paul speaks of is not the 'heavenly' calling itself but rather the prize associated with that upward calling. In other words, there is reward in store for faithful servants of Christ at his Judgement Seat! Here every believer will stand before Christ and "receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor 5:10).

The Judgement Seat of Christ is to be viewed as a positive thing, yet it was clearly something that weighed heavy on the Apostle's mind for he revisits it in some of his last writings in 2 Tim 4:8 "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." Let us all be encouraged and motivated by what we read here, for there can be no doubt from scripture that every believer on the Lord Jesus is destined for heaven and glory, and also that place of reward, where our lives of service will be reviewed.

In Philippians 3 the Apostle Paul uses the phrase "I press on toward the goal" the Apostle is keen, hungry and motivated! His life of service had been hard, and he had endured much for the preaching of the Gospel but here he was, zealous as ever and encouraging other saints to be like-minded! He wanted to continue to make progress, to press on and to have goals and aims in his spiritual life. There is nothing wrong with this motivation about our spiritual life! Granted we should not treat it as a profession or a career, but we should seek to make progress and grow, that much we can see from the scriptures "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" 2 Pet 3:18 

As we begin a new year wouldn't it be great to take stock of our lives and make some spiritual goals or aims for 2013? It could be something like "I'm going to ensure that I have a time for reading the Word and praying every day" or "I'm going to start taking part publicly at a Church gathering" or perhaps "I'm going to talk to someone about the Saviour and the message of salvation each day". What a beneficial impact this would have on our lives and on the lives of our friends and colleagues, both saved and unsaved. Let us be encouraged together and press onwards and upwards in 2013, for there is a prize to be had at the finish!

Yours in Christ, Mark

Things that weren't told

John 21:25

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

It seems that from what John indicates here at the close of his gospel, that we are only told a fraction of all the things that could be told about the earthly ministry of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. When one looks at the first chapter of Mark's gospel we see there an action-packed full day from v21 to v34 for the tireless servant of God. We see also in v35 that the next day he rises a great while before day for prayer! Sometimes we think we've had a busy day but I think nothing compared to the full days of the Son of Man. The example of Creation in Genesis 1 must surely be our guide as to how God uses his days. Each day there was mighty accomplishments and awesome creatorial feats, each divided by the statement "and the evening and the morning were the xxx day". There must have been so much more that went unrecorded in those 3 and a half years f public service! Perhaps we will know more of this when we get to glory and spend eternity with Him.

1 Corinthians 2:9-11

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

If our first reference took us to the PAST, then this reference takes us to the PRESENT. Sometimes we here v9 quoted in relation to our future in Heaven, but then v10 reminds us that these things are for us here and now, as revealed by the Spirit of God!

We are reminded that these things are the deep things of God and v11 may be better rendered "the thoughts of God", what a tremendous thing! That we can know the thoughts and mind of God should surely thrill the heart of every believer. They have not been told or revealed to the world, they can know nothing of this, these things are revealed to believers by the indwelling Holy Spirit, later on we read "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." What a privilege! There is always more we can obtain from God's Word, we shall never exhaust it, the Spirit will always reveal new things to us, but we must apply ourselves and read and study the Word if we are to benefit from it. As we have learned though, these things are not obtained by academic achievement or intellectual prowess, but are available to every believer by the Holy Spirit who "shall teach you all things."

1 Kings 10:4-8

And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,
And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her.
And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

Sometimes we apply these verses to our present experience with coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ, but I would like to look to the FUTURE with this reference. After all, these words were spoken as the Queen of Sheba met King Solomon face to face, so I would like to encourage our hearts by reminding us that one day soon we shall meet the "greater than Solomon", great David's greater Son. John tells us in Revelation 22; "And they shall see his face..." how this should lift our hearts!

So the Queen surveys the scene before her and she took it all in - the glory of the king, and surely nothing will compare to the glory of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in that coming day. She takes in the glorious abode he had built, and surely our minds turn to John 14; "In my Father's house are many mansions... I go to prepare a place for you." She sees the multitude of servants and their apparel, and my mind went to Revelation 19 when John describes the Church - "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." 

The Queen proclaims - "Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom" and my mind once again turned to the future scene described in Revelation 22 - "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him" No more sadness, sorrow or suffering!

The Queen is overcome and amazed, for the half was not told her and surely this is will be our response when we see all that God has in store for us! I think of that chorus we sometimes sing:

"Wonderful Savior, wonderful Friend,

Wonderful life that never shall end;

Wonderful place, He has gone to prepare,

Wonder of wonders I shall be there!" 

 

There's no disappointment in Heaven

I was talking with an older brother in our assembly at the weekend who isn't enjoying the best of health but was able to make it to the meeting on the Lord's Day. He recited most of an old hymn to me which I have looked up online and thought I would post here for our mutual encouragement. It is written by Frederick M Lehman in the early 1900's.

"There's No Disappointment in Heaven"

There's no disappointment in Heaven,

No weariness, sorrow or pain;

No hearts that are bleeding and broken,

No song with a minor refrain.

The clouds of our earthly horizon

Will never appear in the sky,

For all will be sunshine and gladness,

With never a sob or a sigh.

Refrain:

I'm bound for that beautiful city,

My Lord has prepared for His own;

Where all the redeemed of all ages

Sing "Glory!" around the white throne;

Sometimes I grow homesick for Heaven,

And the glories I there shall behold;

What a joy that will be

When my Saviour I see,

In that beautiful city of gold.

 

Amen!

The 'thirds' of scripture... (part 3)

Welcome again fellow believer to the blog and in particular to the final part of our look at the 'thirds' found in scripture. Today we are looking at the 'third watch'.

The third watch - Luke 12:38

I realise that we are lifting these verses slightly out of context and from their proper application, but I feel that they can equally apply to saints who await the soon coming return of the Lord Jesus to the air! I think there are lessons and applications for us here that are fair to make.

Under the Jewish system, the third watch of the night was also the last watch of the night before morning, from 02:00 to 06:00. The night had been long and dark and the watchers would be tiring and weary, but there were signs of morning approaching! My fellow believer, I can't think of a better picture of today, as we look around this sorry world as evil abounds on every corner, doesn't it feel like we are in the third watch of the night? There can be no doubt that there is much unrest in the world, and we are living in dark and difficult days of testimony, surely the Lord will come soon as he promised in his Word!

"surely I come quickly" Revelation 22:20

If we read the previous verses the Lord speaks about those servants who are waiting and watching for their Lord to return. There are 2 things that the Lord mentions about these waiting and watching servants:

"Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning"

In Bible times the loins being girded would mean that the person was ready for activity and movement, as their garments and robes were long and flowing and needed to be girded in order to do serious activity! As we wait and watch for the Lord we should be active in service, ready to move and do his will.

The lamps burning would speak of the light of testimony, as the scriptures often refer to a testimony being a light, whether it be individual or collective as an assembly. In these dark days in which we live, surely it is even more imperative that our light of testimony burn all the more brighter to bring glory and honour to God and be a witness and beacon for the lost world around us! If this shows us anything, it is that our testimony is of great importance and interest to the Lord. He delights in it and it brings glory to him. We challenge ourselves - what state is our testimony in, both individual and collectively?

Finally, by way of encouragement we notice that there is blessing for those faithful and expectant servants:

"And if he shall come in... the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants"

Surely this would point us on to a future day of appraisal and reward for the believer, or as it is called the Judgement Seat of Christ:

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" 2 Cor 5:10

As we leave this rich and profitable mini-study, let us leave ourselves with these challenges:

Our life and testimony down here does matter! The Lord is looking for it and will bless faithful servants in a future day. Are we content to coast along, to settle for spiritual mediocrity?

The time is short, the Lord is soon coming, we are in the third watch - how will be found?

The 'thirds' of scripture... (part 2)

Welcome to the third part of our thoughts concerning these fascinating 'thirds' found in the gospels. I hope you have enjoyed the thoughts so far and found them productive and stimulating. If you have, then please leave a comment for me so I know you have!

The third day - Matt 16:21

Praise God we can move on from talking about the third hour and think about the third day when Jesus rose from the dead! We do not remember a dead Saviour today but one who rose mightily from the dead and ascended and is alive at God's right hand today. Of course in his resurrection we see the divine plan of salvation and the sovereign will of God being revealed and worked out. The resurrection showed that God was well pleased with the work of his Son, the price for sin had been paid, and it showed he had triumphed over death, 'sheol' and the grave! The resurrection glorified God and proved to all that his was a victorious death and that he had fully completed perfectly all that he had set out to do. He had prophesied regarding his death, burial and resurrection and all had come to pass as he had said.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus also has further implications for the believer;

1. It speaks of our new life in Christ - Romans 6

"like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life"

A fellow believer reminded me recently; "we easily accept and remember the truth that Christ died for us, but it's very easy to forget that we also died with Christ!" How true - Our "old man", that is to say all that we were in Adam was crucified with Christ on that cross. When we got saved we were born again, we were made a new creature, these are all scriptural terms to describe what happened when we repented and trusted Christ as Saviour! We who were once dead in trespasses and sins were given a new life, a spiritual life that we never had before. Of course baptism is a picture of this - Our old man was crucified with Christ and buried, and we 'arose' with new life, ready to serve God!

I wonder if we were to take assessment of our Christian testimony, could we say that we were walking in " newness of life"?

2. It speaks of our future life with Christ - 1 Cor 15

This passage makes clear that if Christ is not risen, then our faith is vain or empty and we are of all men most miserable! The truth of the resurrection is vital to our faith! I like the words of assurance in this passage however:

"but now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept"

"Christ the first-fruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming"

These verses tell us that because Christ has risen, we can be certain that our bodies too will be raised from the dead when he returns to the air in the event that we call 'the rapture'. Death is certainly not the end of the story for the believer!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words"

So we can see that there is a wonderful future for the believer, whether we die or not and it is all founded upon the resurrection of Christ, so we can have assurance when we talk about these things!

I hope these thoughts have been an encouragement to us. Next time we will look at the final 'third' that I want to consider, can you guess what it might be? If you feel like chancing your arm, leave a comment!

Yours in Christ, Mark

 

Man versus God

As the title suggests, it is interesting to compare the reaction of men and the solution they offer to a situation, to the solution offered by the Lord Jesus Christ. In Mark chapter 5 we have 3 examples of this brought before us and it has been a lovely study for me and I hope you find it beneficial too!

1. The man of the Gadarenes (v1-20)

The first character that we meet in this chapter is the man of Gadara who was possessed by the demon Legion, "for we are many". Just look at the response of men to this man's problem: they had ostracised him and separated him from society, banishing him to the catacombs and graveyards (places of death) of the region. As far as they were concerned his life was indeed over and this was the best place for him where he couldn't bother them. Notice that they bound him with chains and fetters, they offered him nothing but bondage and frustration! Then we see the Lord Jesus come in and he commands the evil spirits to come out of him and they do so, obeying the authoritative voice of the Son of God. Observe the transformation in this man's life, he gained 3 things he had not had in his previous life - he is found sitting (at rest and at peace), clothed (dignity and self respect) and in his right mind (self control, his mind was his own).

[caption id="attachment_118" align="alignright" width="300" caption="A view of the hill country of Gadara, note the slopes towards the Sea of Galilee"][/caption]

What a complete change from the wild, uncontrollable man that was before! I like the parting touch of the Saviour; "go home to thy friends" I find it lovely that the Saviour knew that this man once had a life and had friends, but they had long left the scene, for this man had led such a lonely and solitary existence. His mission now however was to return to his friends and tell them all about the one who had turned his life around! Just like this man, we too have been liberated from the power and bondage of sin, taken from the place of death and given new life, new appetites and desires. Again like this man our mission field should start with our own friends and family - do they know what great things the Lord has done for us?

2. The woman with the issue of blood (v24 - 34)

The chapter moves on quickly, for this is the gospel of activity and action! We are soon introduced to a woman who has suffered with an ailment for 12 whole years. The scriptures tell us that she had "suffered many things" at the hands of many and various doctors. One can only imagine the horrendous remedies and treatments they had subjected her to, medicine back then not being what it is today! Just look at what they had taken from her, they had taken every last penny from her, and what was the return on her investment? Absolutely nothing, she was no better off than when they had started. But what a lovely comparison we have as we look at the effect that the Saviour had upon her life - a complete and perfect cure! "straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up" Nevermore would she be plagued by her ailment, the Lord confirm it to her in person. So we ask ourselves the question - what was her investment in the Lord Jesus? What was the cost to her? A simple touch of the hem of his garment! This is all the Saviour requires to transform and bless lives today, for us to reach out in faith and he will do the rest. As believers we can apply this principle to ourselves - we can invest all our time and resources into the systems of the world and we will come out of it with nothing (at least spiritually), just like this woman! Men will take and take for as long as we are willing to give whereas with Christ the opposite is true with spiritual things - he will give and give more as long as we are willing to receive in terms of spiritual wisdom and development. We can see this principle in the previous chapter: "...with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given...

3. Jairus' daughter (v35-43)

Here we have a final example of the stark difference in the response of man to the glorious response of the Lord Jesus to a certain situation. We see that a tragedy had occurred - the little girl had died and all was lost, or so the people thought! Look at their lack of faith as they break the news to Jairus: "Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?" As far as they were concerned all hope was lost, a thought further reinforced by the scene that met them at the house - the place had been invaded by mourners, wailing dramatically and bemoaning the death of the little one. How negative and unhelpful! All they could offer was misery and despair. They had no faith that there was one in their midst who was the Resurrection and the Life, the one who upholds all things by the word of his power! They further miscalculated the person of the Lord Jesus in their mocking when he said "she sleepeth" - to him raising this little girl from the dead was just like awakening her from sleep! When the world thinks our situation is lost, when they pour scorn on our beliefs and our Lord and Saviour we should remember that all things are simple and possible with God!

We can apply this to the future for the believer - even if we pass through physical death. Here is a situation that the world would could hopeless, they would say that this is the end of the story, the final destination is the grave! But praise the Lord that death is not the end for the believer, our soul is received into heaven and the Lord will one day raise the body as well! And what will be the energising catalyst for this great resurrection? The same as it was 2000 years ago - his voice!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... and the dead in Christ shall rise first"

Yours in Christ,

Mark