Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (10)
Dealing with Sin:
Three Problems, One Solution
I. Problem #1: We’re separated from God
Isaiah 59:1-2 No, Jehovah’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have become a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Solution: The blood of Jesus cleanses us from every sin. (1 John 1:7, 9)
II. Problem #2: We have guilt in our conscience
Hebrews 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Solution: The blood of Jesus Purifies our conscience. (Hebrews 9:14)
III. Problem #3: We’re accused by Satan
Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night.
Solution: We overcome Satan because of the blood of Jesus. (Revelation 12:11)
We’re separated from God
When we received Jesus Christ as our Savior, we were forgiven and washed from our sins. But although our salvation is eternal, after we’re saved, we still commit sins. We disobey God or fail Him in many situations in our daily living. After all, 1 John 1:8—which was written to believers—says: “If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” When we sin, it results in three problems involving three parties—God, ourselves, and Satan.
Since God is holy and absolutely righteous, our sins separate us from Him. It doesn’t take committing a serious crime to separate us from God; even telling a little lie creates a barrier between us and Him. Only the blood of Jesus can remove this barrier. We can be forgiven and cleansed from every sin by the blood of Jesus. This removes the separation between us and God. But for us to be forgiven, something is first required: we must confess our sins to God. When we confess, He is faithful and righteous to forgive and cleanse us because the blood of Jesus satisfies all God’s righteous requirements. (1 John 1:7-9)
Sometimes after we confess our sins to God, we may not feel forgiven. But our feelings don’t determine whether we’re forgiven; our forgiveness is based on the blood of Jesus. According to the Bible, if we confess our sins to God, we’re forgiven and have the right to come boldly to Him. The separation is removed, and we can enjoy fellowship with Him once more.
We have guilt in our conscience
Another huge problem created by sin is the guilt we feel inside. God is satisfied with the blood of Jesus as payment for our sins, but we may be plagued by guilt. This is because the sins we commit leave a stain on our conscience. The feeling of guilt comes from our stained conscience. But the Word of God gives us the answer to this problem. Hebrews 9:14 shows us the unique solution for a guilty conscience: “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The same blood that requires God to forgive us also purifies our conscience and washes away the stain of sin. The blood of Christ is truly powerful!
If a feeling of guilt remains after we confess our sins, we should simply stand upon the Word of God. We can pray, “Thank You, Lord Jesus, by Your blood I’m forgiven and cleansed. Lord, Your Word says that Your blood even purifies my conscience! Thank You, my sin is completely washed away by the blood of Jesus.” The more we stand upon the Word of God instead of trusting in our feelings, the more we’re assured that the stain on our conscience is cleansed away.
We’re accused by Satan
After we’ve dealt with our sins before God, we may encounter another problem: an inward feeling of accusation regarding our sins. This accusation can become like a giant cloud over our heads, robbing us of all peace. Even though we realize we’ve been forgiven by God and our conscience has been purified, we may be troubled by that lingering accusation and continue to blame ourselves for what we’ve done. This feeling might drive us to confess our sin to God again, thinking we didn’t confess thoroughly enough the first time, or didn’t feel sorry enough. But no matter how many times we confess the same sin to God, the accusations just won’t go away.
Why is that? It’s extremely important to see where these accusations come from. They’re not from God. Satan is God’s enemy and our accuser. He spends his time accusing the believers, even day and night. His goal is to weaken and even paralyze us. He wants to cheat us of our enjoyment of the Lord and all He’s done for us. If we accept his accusations, our fellowship with God will be hindered, and we’ll suffer great loss in our spiritual life.
Instead of succumbing to Satan’s accusations, we must reject them. When he accuses us, we should simply declare, “Satan, I reject your accusations. Look at the blood of Jesus. God is satisfied by Christ’s redeeming blood, my conscience is purified with His cleansing blood, and you’re defeated by His overcoming blood!”
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (9)
A Young Man in God’s Plan
Message One – A Young Man in God’s Plan
Message Two – Saul’s Birth and Religion
Message Three – Saul’s Life and Conversion
Message Four – Our Commission
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (8)
Confessing Our Sins –
The Way to Restore
Our Fellowship with The Lord
I. We need to confess our sins to the Lord
I John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
II. Why we need to confess our sins – to remove the barriers between us and the Lord
III. What it means to confess our sins – admit and acknowledge
Psalm 32:5 – I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Jehovah. Then You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Have you ever struggled with what you should do when you sin, even after you’re saved?
When we first repented to God and received Jesus Christ as our Savior, we were forgiven of all our sins, and a peace we never knew flooded our hearts. But we know from personal experience that being saved doesn’t mean we’re immune to sin. Despite our best efforts, we still sin. So what should we do when we sin after we’re saved?
We need to confess our sins to the Lord
Since our salvation is eternal, we don’t need to be saved again to receive forgiveness for our sins. In fact, that’s impossible. But we also shouldn’t think it’s okay to sin just because we’re saved eternally. God is offended by and concerned about the sins we commit after we’re saved. The Bible gives us a clear answer to the question of what we should do when we sin. To experience being forgiven and washed of our sins, we must confess them to the Lord. Confessing our sins to God is critical for a healthy Christian life. Now, let’s look at why we need to confess our sins, what it means to confess, how to confess, and the results of confessing.
Why we need to confess our sins
God wants to have a loving relationship with us, and we want to have the same with Him. But when we sin, a barrier arises between us and God. Our God is a God of love, but He’s also holy and righteous. He can’t tolerate or ignore sin. This is why our fellowship with Him is interrupted. In our human relationships, we know that when we offend someone, a barrier goes up between us and that person. For example, let’s say you offend a friend by saying something hurtful, and you never apologize. You both feel there’s a rift between you, but until you clear the air by apologizing, you simply can’t be at ease in each other’s presence. This is even more true when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. Before we sin, we have peace in Him. We enjoy free and open fellowship with Him. But when we sin, our conscience tells us we’ve offended the Lord. The ease and sweetness of our relationship is lost. We’ve trespassed against Him, and our sin is now a barrier between us and God. We can’t enjoy fellowship with Him as we did before.
Confessing our sins to the Lord is the only way our fellowship with Him can be restored.
What it means to confess our sins
To confess means that we admit and acknowledge our sin. We don’t cover it up or act as if we didn’t do anything wrong. So how do we know when we’ve sinned? The Bible tells us in 1 John 1:5 that “God is light.” When God shines on us, He exposes our sins and failures, and we become conscious of them. The resulting sense of guilt in our conscience is uncompromising and can’t be subdued by any reasoning or excuse on our side. Instead of trying to justify ourselves, reason our sin away, or cover it up, we should acknowledge the sins God shines on by agreeing with His light. This is the meaning of confessing.
The writer of Psalm 32:5 gives us a clear word about this:
“I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Jehovah. Then You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
This verse shows us that to confess our sins to God means not to cover them but to acknowledge them and admit to the Lord that we’ve sinned. This means we agree with God’s light and judgment of our sin and say, “Yes, Lord, that is sin.”
How to confess our sins to the Lord
As soon as we realize we’ve sinned and offended the Lord, we need to confess. So how do we do this?
We confess our sins in prayer directly to God. Whether it’s a small transgression or one that’s more serious, when the Lord makes us aware of it through our conscience, we must immediately admit our sin to Him and ask for His forgiveness. We don’t need to go to a certain place, tell a special person, or wait for a particular time to confess our sins. No matter where we are, as soon as we’re made conscious of our sins, we can confess them to the Lord by praying to Him. Since He’s living in our spirit, we can confess our sins anywhere and at any time.
A practical example
Let’s say your workplace has a stock of notepads and pens. Since they’re just the kind you like, you help yourself to a few for personal use at home. Later on, as you open your heart to the Lord to spend time with Him, He shines on you and convicts your conscience that you’ve taken something that doesn’t belong to you. At this point, you could reason, “The office has plenty of those things; they’ll never be missed.” Or you can go along with the feeling of conviction and guilt in your conscience and agree with the Lord that what you did was wrong. When you decide to go along with the Lord, you can immediately pray to Him, “Yes, Lord, You’re right; I’ve sinned. I confess that I took those things. I’m sorry. Forgive me, Lord. Thank You for shedding Your precious blood to take away my sin.” Notice that this simple prayer doesn’t include a promise to do better. That isn’t required. What is required is acknowledging your sin to the Lord and declaring your faith in His blood shed for your forgiveness. After we confess our sins, we should also resolve our wrongdoing if necessary. In this example, you should return the items to your workplace. The sin in this example might seem small, even insignificant. But in principle, all sins—big or small—must be confessed, since any sin interrupts our fellowship with God.
The result of confession: forgiveness and cleansing
In 1 John 1:9, a verse written by the apostle John to believers, we see the result of confessing our sins:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If we confess, the result is that we are forgiven and cleansed.
Note 2 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version explains what it means for God to be faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins:
“God is faithful in His word (v. 10) and righteous in the blood of Jesus His Son (v. 7). His word is the word of the truth of His gospel (Eph. 1:13), which tells us that He will forgive us our sins because of Christ (Acts 10:43); and the blood of Christ has fulfilled His righteous requirements that He might forgive us our sins (Matt. 26:28). If we confess our sins, He, according to His word and based on the redemption through the blood of Jesus, forgives us because He must be faithful in His word and righteous in the blood of Jesus; otherwise, He would be unfaithful and unrighteous. Our confession is needed for His forgiveness. Such forgiveness of God, which is for the restoration of our fellowship with Him, is conditional; it depends on our confession.”
Our forgiveness depends on our confession. By confessing our sins, we receive forgiveness—a forgiveness that’s solidly based on God’s faithfulness and righteousness.
Note 3 on the same verse explains what it means for Him to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness”:
“To forgive us is to release us from the offense of our sins, whereas to cleanse us is to wash us from the stain of our unrighteousness.”
We gain so much by confessing our sins: we’re released and washed, and our fellowship with the Lord is fully restored.
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (7)
A Private Prayer Life
I To know God’s plan we have to know God
A To know someone we have to spend time with them
B To know God we have to spend time with Him
II How do we spend time with God
1 Corinthians 3:6, 9 – I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. … For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s cultivated land, God’s building.
Colossians 2:7 – Having been rooted and being built up in Him, and being established in the faith even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
In Matthew 6:6, the Lord Jesus said:
“But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”
These words aren’t hard to understand, but we may find they’re much harder for us to put into practice.
Life today is full of things that consume our time and attention. Every day we spend hours on our cell phones or other devices, catching up on emails, texts, and social media. We also turn to them for amusement, distraction, or information. Our electronic “companions” are with us all the time, from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep.
The trouble is that this constant connection to the world around us negatively affects our spiritual life. When our time is eaten up and our minds are preoccupied, it’s impossible to have private times of undisturbed fellowship with the Lord. Yet the Lord’s word in Matthew 6 is clear: enter into your private room, shut your door, and pray.
The Lord Jesus is our pattern
In the Gospels, we can see numerous occasions where Jesus left the crowds and went away to be alone to pray. Matthew 14:23 says:
“And after He sent the crowds away, He went up to the mountain privately to pray. And when night fell, He was there alone.”
And Mark 1:35 says:
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still night, [Jesus] went out and went away to a deserted place, and there He prayed.”
Throughout His life on earth, Jesus seized the opportunity to be alone with the Father, praying in secret. The Lord left the bustling crowds, the pressing needs surrounding Him, and even His disciples to pray in private. But how can we maintain a private prayer life in an age of such distraction?
We need to recognize the dangers of the modern world
To foster the practice of private prayer, we first need to recognize the particular danger our cell phones and other devices can pose to our spiritual life.
Life’s responsibilities keep us busy enough, and modern technology certainly makes life and work much easier and more efficient. But if we’re not careful, our smartphones, smartwatches, computers, and tablets, convenient as they are, can easily take up all our time and attention. Daily they offer more to read, more to watch, and more people to catch up with.
We all have to admit that because we’re constantly connected to our devices, often there’s no time left to spend with the Lord. The time we could spend in private prayer is replaced by viewing video after video, scrolling through endless social media feeds, or watching the latest movies and TV shows.
But if we’re aware of the danger to our spiritual life from present-day distractions, we’ll be on the alert and pay attention to how we spend our time.
We need to recognize the importance of private prayer
Second, we need to realize that having a hidden life with the Lord Jesus is essential if we want to have a meaningful Christian life. Getting away from life’s hustle and bustle to have private time with the Lord isn’t optional; our spiritual lives depend on it. Without it, our spiritual life will eventually dry up. It will be difficult for us to live for the Lord, love Him, or overcome temptation.
Having personal, even secret time with the Lord in private is invaluable. This is when we can confess our sins to Him, be spiritually nourished in His Word, and fellowship intimately with Him about anything on our heart. At times like this, we enjoy His nearness in our spirit. Calling on His name in such an atmosphere is so sweet. And unlike with other things, we can say that we never regret spending time like this with the Lord.
Once we recognize the hazard of modern distractions and see our need for alone time with the Lord, we can ask Him to help us to have a private prayer life. Surely He would be happy and faithful to answer our prayer!
5 points for practicing private prayer
1. Set a fixed time
Perhaps we’re waiting for that elusive “someday” when our lives are less busy and more peaceful; we think then we’ll be able to go and have time alone with the Lord. But realistically speaking, that “someday” will never come; busyness and distractions won’t decrease. So we have to be deliberate and definite about having private time with the Lord starting now.
We should choose a time of day when we can turn away from everything and spend quality time with Christ. The best time for this is early in the morning before the busy day begins, but we can also use our lunch break or pick a quiet time in the evening before we go to sleep. And once we set this time for private prayer, we should do our best not to miss it!
2. Find a “private room”
We may not have access to a deserted place or a mountain, but we can find a place away from people and things that distract us from prayer. Our “private room” could be our car, a room, a closet, our backyard—anywhere we can pray undisturbed.
3. Turn everything off
We should silence our phones, or even turn them off completely. It’s hard to develop a relationship or have a deep conversation with another person if we’re constantly glancing at our phones. It sends them the message that what we’re looking at is more important to us than they are.
The same is true with the Lord. That’s why it’s best to turn everything off or even leave our devices in another room so we can focus solely on Him. This allows us to listen to Him, talk with Him, and gaze at Him undisturbed.
4. Pray with the Bible
We may not be sure how to pray or what to say to the Lord, and our minds can wander. But we can use the words of the Bible to pray. All we need to do is open our Bible and use the words we read to compose our prayers.
For instance, let’s say we open to 1 John 1:7 and read, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.”
We can pray something like this: “Lord Jesus, I want to walk in the light. Lord, I want to be in the light so I can have fellowship with You and other believers. Thank You for Your precious blood. Hallelujah, it cleanses me from every sin!”
Perhaps at this point, the Lord shines on something we did or spoke that was displeasing to Him. We can immediately confess that sin and experience the cleansing of the blood of Jesus. By praying with His Word, we can speak to the Lord, and the Lord can speak to us.
5. Use a printed copy of the Bible
Using a printed Bible instead of a digital version is a good way to avoid the temptation of looking at something else on our phone. It also makes it easy to jot down notes and highlight portions we’re touched with during our time with the Lord.
When we enter our private room and shut the door, we’ll enjoy the Lord’s sweet presence as we fellowship with Him in prayer and in the Word. He will supply us with His life each day so we can live a healthy, normal Christian life.
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (6)
Prayer by Talking to God
(our friend!)
I. Praying to God as our friend – the example of Abraham
Genesis 18:1-2a, 17-18, 32 – And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and there were three men standing opposite him. … And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will indeed become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed in him? … And he said, Oh let the Lord not be angry if I speak yet once more. Suppose ten are found there? And He said, I will not destroy it, because of the ten.
James 2:23 – And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness”; and he was called the friend of God.
II. Getting our friend (the Lord!) involved
1 Peter 5:7 – Casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you.
III. Being genuine with our friend (the Lord!)
The title of Psalm 102 – “A Prayer of an afflicted one, when he is fainting and he pours out his complaint before Jehovah.”
Have you ever wondered whether there’s a correct way to pray to God? Have you felt like you didn’t know how to pray, or that you couldn’t because you didn’t know any acceptable prayers?
Throughout the years, thousands of books have been written on the subject of prayer. This great matter has many aspects. But in this post, we’ll discuss just one simple aspect: praying by talking to God.
We’ll look at a an instance in the Gospels that can help shed light on this aspect of prayer.
A request for sight
As you read through the four Gospels, you’ll notice that the people who came to Jesus for help spoke to Him in an honest and straightforward way.
For instance, in Matthew 20:29-34 we have the story of the encounter between Jesus and two blind men:
“And as they were going out from Jericho, a great crowd followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!’ And the crowd rebuked them so that they would be silent, but they cried out the more, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!’ And Jesus, standing still, called them and said, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ They said to Him, ‘Lord, that our eyes may be opened.’ And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed Him.”
When the two blind men heard that Jesus was near, they cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them. Then the Lord asked them what they wanted Him to do for them. The two blind men didn’t use fancy or formal expressions. They spoke straight from their heart and told Jesus what they wanted: their eyes to be opened.
If they hadn’t cried out, “Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David,” they would have remained in their blindness. But Jesus healed them, answering their request for sight.
Praying by conversing with Jesus
So what can we learn from this case about how to pray? As these people conversed with Jesus, they were essentially praying to Him. They let Him know what they hoped He would do for them. Of course, the Lord already knew what they needed, but they were the ones who initiated the conversation.
It’s easy for us to overcomplicate the matter of prayer. We may think we need to pray in a certain way, or that we need to repeat the right combination of words in order for the Lord to hear us. But this account in Matthew show us that we can talk to the Lord in a straightforward way.
How we can converse with Jesus today
The blind men had the privilege of meeting Jesus and telling Him their requests in person. But at that time, when Jesus lived on the earth, they had to be in the right place at the right time in order to do so.
For us today, Jesus now lives in our spirit, our deepest part. This means He’s always with us. We don’t need to wait for an opportunity to catch a glimpse of Him or be near Him. We don’t need to be in a special building or place, or reserve our prayer for a special time.
Because He’s always with us, we can talk with Him any time, anywhere, as often as we wish! The Lord lives in us and wants to be involved in every area of our life. He knows all things that we need, but He wants us to talk to Him and tell Him what’s on our heart. In this way, we gain more than the answer to our requests. As we talk to the Lord throughout the day, we experience sweet and continual fellowship with Him.
Some examples of conversing with the Lord
We can talk to the Lord in many ways about all kinds of things. Below are just a few examples. No matter what our situation or need may be, the most important thing when we pray is that we open our hearts to the Lord and are direct and genuine with Him.
As we begin our day, we can pray something like this:
“Lord Jesus, good morning. Thank You for another day. Thank You for this new day for me to experience and enjoy You living in me.”
Later, we might want to pray to the Lord about an unsaved family member:
“Lord Jesus, my father still isn’t saved. I really want Him to know You. Oh Lord, save Him!”
Sometimes we’re burdened with many cares. But 1 Peter 5:7 is an encouraging word:
“Casting all your anxiety on Him because it matters to Him concerning you.”
So we can pray about our cares like this:
“Oh Lord Jesus, I need You. I’m really anxious today. I need Your help. Lord, I cast all of my anxieties on You. I can’t deal with all these things, but You can. Thank You that it matters to You concerning me.”
At other times, when we realize how much we need to grow in the Lord, we can just pray, “Lord, grow in me more today.”
We can pray about anything. We can ask the Lord for something, thank Him, or say, “Lord Jesus, I love You.”
If we don’t know where to start, we can begin by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus. Calling on His name is a form of praying, and often, we’ll find the words to say to the Lord as we call on Him.
As you can see from these examples, our prayers don’t need to be complicated or formal. The Lord is living within us, eager for us to open to Him and talk to Him.
As we go on in our Christian life, we can have hundreds of thousands of conversations with the Lord Jesus about anything and everything. He may not answer our requests immediately or in the way we expect, but He cares about every detail of our lives. He’s always ready to listen to whatever is on our heart, and we can enjoy sweet fellowship with Him as we talk to Him.
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (5)
“Come to Me”
I. Man was cut off from the Tree of Life
Genesis 3:24 – So He drove the man out, and at the east of the garden of Eden He placed the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Ephesians 2:12 – That you were at that time apart from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
II. Christ opened the way back to God
Ephesians 2:13 – But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have become near in the blood of Christ.
Revelation 22:14 – Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city.
III. Προσεύχομαι (proseúchomai) – Pray
Πρός – To, near, towards
Εὔχομαι – wish, will
8 Helpful Points for Breathing
in God Through Prayer
We all know breathing is the most fundamental need for sustaining our physical life. But did you know that continually breathing in the life of God is essential for maintaining our spiritual life?
In our fast-paced, busy lives, it’s easy to find ourselves “holding our breath.” No wonder we’re spiritually weak, negative things build up in our heart, and we’re susceptible to sin. How we need to breathe! We need to absorb the life of God in order to live the Christian life. Too often we pray to ask God for things and answers to problems. But our primary need is to breathe in God.
Today, we’ll touch on eight points that can help us breathe in God through prayer.
1. Set aside time to pray. Much like working out, if we don’t schedule time to pray, we won’t do it. Maybe it’s simply a matter of going to bed at a decent time and waking up thirty minutes earlier than usual. In fact, spending time with God first thing in the morning really sets the tone for the day. We can begin our time with Him by telling Him we love Him: “Oh Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, I love You.” We can exhale all of the things that are bothering us and focus on enjoying Christ.
2. Develop a habit of prayer. Studies show it takes about twenty-one days to form a new habit. We can try to spend twenty minutes with the Lord in prayer every day for three weeks to begin to develop a healthy prayer habit. It will make a big difference in our life if we spend consistent time in prayer to be filled with the Lord and be spiritually recharged.
3. Turn off our electronic devices. Matthew 14:23 tells us Jesus “went up to the mountain privately to pray.” He left the crowd below, even His disciples, to be alone and spend uninterrupted time with the Father. While modern technology helps us, it also brings huge distractions into our lives that keep us from spending time with the Lord Jesus and breathing Him in. He wants to spend personal, private time with us. By going to a place free of other people and putting away our devices so we’re not distracted, we can shut out the world and take in the Lord in a solid way.
4. Muse on the Word. Psalm 119:15 says, “I will muse upon Your precepts and regard Your ways.” Note 1 in the Holy Bible Recovery Version defines muse:
“To muse on the word of God is to enjoy His word as His breath (2 Tim. 3:16) and thus to be infused with God, to breathe God in, and to receive spiritual nourishment.”
Did you know that not only the Spirit is breath but also His Word is breath? Second Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” By using our spirit to pray with the words in the Bible, we can muse on and take in every God-breathed word, so we can be infused with God and nourished by Him.
5. Pray with the Bible. We can make any verse in the Bible our prayer. For example, we can pray, “All Scripture is God-breathed. Thank You, Lord, all of Your Scriptures are Your breath! I come to breathe You in through Your Word right now.” We can spend time praying over a certain verse; we don’t need to feel like we have to rush ahead to another one. Instead, we can continue to enjoy a particular phrase, lingering to breathe deeply.
6. Praise the Lord. When we spend time with the Lord, musing on His Word and enjoying Him, praises will spontaneously issue from our lips. Say, for example, we’re enjoying Matthew 1:21, which says, “And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” From musing on this verse, it will be easy to praise Him, “Lord Jesus, I praise You. You’re the most wonderful One in the universe. Praise You for becoming a man! Thank You, Lord, for saving me from my sins. I praise You as my Savior!”
7. Allow God to finish His speaking. We often cut our time with the Lord short. Imagine if we were treated like this by the people in our lives. Let’s say a good friend comes to talk to us. He tells us about something that happened to him, tells us how he’s doing, asks us to do a few things for him, and before we can respond, he walks away. How would we feel? We might have had a lot to say, but we didn’t get a chance. Quite often, this is how we treat the Lord. We vent to Him, unload what’s on our heart, ask Him to do something for us, ask Him to help us with something, and then finish our time of prayer without allowing Him to say anything to us. To breathe in the Lord, we also need to allow the Lord the opportunity to speak what’s on His heart to us.
8. Pray throughout the day. The simplest way to pray throughout the day is by calling on His name. Calling on the name of the Lord Jesus is something we can do anywhere at any time, whether loudly or quietly. It’s an easy way to breathe in the Lord all day.
Prayer isn’t a duty; it’s a necessity for survival, because it’s our spiritual breathing. And it’s a delight! We can breathe in our enjoyable God moment by moment to be refreshed, strengthened, and filled with Him.
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (4)
The Tree of Life and the River
Signifying God as Life to Man
Genesis 2:8 – And Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Genesis 2:9 – And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:10 – And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became four branches.
Revelation 22:1 – And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.
Revelation 22:2 – And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
John 1:4 – In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 15:1 – I am the true vine and My Father is the husbandman.
John 10:10 – The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.
John 6:57 – As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.
John 7:37 – Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 – He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.
I. MAN PLACED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
After God created man, He planted a beautiful garden and put the man there. In the garden there were many fruit trees good for food. In the center of the garden was the tree of life and with it a river. It was in front of this tree that God put the man.
At that time, what was the most important need of man? Did he need a job to earn money in order to eat? No, all that he needed for living had been provided for him by God. Did God tell the man to do good and to be a good person? No, He simply created him and then put him in front of the tree of life in the garden. To realize what man needed most, you must remember what God’s purpose was in creating man. He was not created to make a living or to be good and do good; He was created to express God in His image by being filled up with His life. So, what man needed the most was for God to be his life.
II. THE TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN’S CENTER
You have heard about the garden of Eden, but do you know what was the most outstanding feature in the garden? You may think it was its beauty or pleasantness, but this was not so. The most outstanding feature was the tree of life at the center. This tree signified God as life to man. The garden of Eden was not just a beautiful place, but a place where man could receive God as life and be filled with God in order to fulfill God’s eternal purpose and satisfy God.
III. LIFE NEEDED FOR GOD’S EXPRESSION
Even though God had created man in His image and according to His likeness, it was impossible for this man to express God without receiving Him as life. Simply to have the outward form of God’s image and authority was not enough. For man to express God and represent Him, he needed God’s life. Without God’s life, we are utterly unable and unqualified to express God and represent Him. A light bulb is a good illustration. It is made to express electricity by shining, but if electricity never comes into it, it can never fulfill its function. It is just the same with man. Man is a “light bulb” to express God, the divine light. But to do this, the divine electricity, God’s life, must come into man. Though he has been made in God’s image and likeness to express Him, man still needs God’s life to come into him before he can truly express God.
IV. THE TREE OF LIFE SIGNIFYING CHRIST
Now, let us turn to Genesis 2:9-10. After God created man, He did not tell man to do good or to do something for Him in order to express Him. Rather, He placed man in front of the tree of life so that man could partake of Him as life. The way he would take God as life into him was by eating Him. The New Testament tells us that this tree of life signifies God incarnated in Christ. John 1:4 tells us that “In Him was life.” In John 14:6, the Lord Jesus said that He is “the way, and the reality, and the life.” In John 10:10, He told us that He came that we “may have life and may have it abundantly.” In John 6:57, the Lord Jesus told us to eat Him. These verses point out that Jesus Christ Himself is the life for man, as portrayed by the tree of life. Isn’t this wonderful? Jesus did not come to give us some laws by which we should live. He didn’t come to give us a better job, house or car. Instead, He came just to give Himself to us to be our life.
V. THE RIVER OF LIFE QUENCHING OUR THIRST
In the garden there was not only a tree, signifying Christ as our life, but also a river. In Genesis it does not say “a river of life,” but in Revelation 22:1 it says, “And he showed me a river of water of life.” This river is seen throughout the entire Bible. It signifies God as the Spirit reaching us as life and quenching our thirst. In John 7:37 the Lord Jesus said, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” This verse shows that Jesus came to be life to man in the same way that water quenches our thirst. Sometimes, you may feel that nothing is able to satisfy you. That was the case with the people in John 7 (see John 7:37-38). They did not know God’s purpose in creating them, nor did they realize their need to take God into them as life. Even though they had just finished a big feast which lasted all week, they were still hungry and thirsty for something more. It was then that Jesus offered Himself to them to be a satisfying drink, bringing God as life to them so that both they and God could be satisfied.
Today, God is still offering Himself to all of us. We all need to come to Him and drink.
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (3)
God’s Desire being that
We would Live with Him
I. God’s plan from the beginning
Genesis 1:26 – And God said, Let us make man in Our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of heaven and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
II. God taking two steps to accomplish His plan
John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1 Corinthians 15:45 – So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.
III. How to practice living with the Lord
Galatians 5:25 – If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
OUR NEEDING TO PRACTICE
LIVING WITH THE LORD IN OUR DAILY LIVING
God’s desire is only this—to work Himself into us to be our life and person and to be one with us. Today God has come into us to abide in us and to be our person. He desires that we would live Him, that is, live by Him, live with Him, and walk together with Him. Every action in our living should be done in one accord with the Lord. When we love, the Lord should flow out of our love. When we are humble, the Lord should flow out of our humility. Every action that we take in our daily living should be the Lord living Himself out through us.
ALL THAT WE ARE BEING JUST AN OUTWARD SHELL,
AND CHRIST BEING OUR UNIQUE CONTENT
The Lord Jesus is real and living. He is living right inside of us. In the winter many of us wear gloves. A glove is made to look exactly like a hand, except that a glove is empty. A glove is an exterior covering. The reality of the glove is the hand. According to the revelation in the Bible, every created human being is a hollow shell. Our mind and intellect, our will, and our emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and delight are all shells. All our desires are also shells. In fact, our entire life and our whole being are an outward shell. When God Himself enters into us, He becomes our content and the reality of our life and being. The God who enters into us is Jesus Christ as the life-giving Spirit. He is the reality of God. We are a shell, and God desires to enter into us to fill every part of our being. First He enters into our spirit. Then He fills our mind, our emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and delight, and our will with its power. Outwardly, we are but a shell. Christ is meant to be our inward content.
HOW TO PRACTICE LIVING WITH THE LORD
When we wake up in the morning, it is not necessary to purposely kneel down. While we are brushing our teeth, washing our face, and getting dressed, we can begin living with the Lord by contacting Him, praying, “Lord, what will You do today? Lord, how will You lead me today?” The minute we wake up, we can contact the Lord. The best way to do this is by calling on the Lord—“O Lord! O Lord Jesus! What do You want me to do today? How do You want me to live by You today? O Lord! How will You lead me today?” If we simply communicate with the Lord in this way, gradually over time we will have the practice of contacting the Lord. Then whenever we are thinking, we will say, “Lord, I am going to use my mind. My mind is an empty shell. Your mind is the real content. Lord Jesus, come and think for me. I want Your mind to be my mind. O Lord, do think over this matter in me. In this matter, let Your mind fill my mind.” This is very clear. When we go to the store to shop, we should not speak to the salesperson on our own. We must say to the Lord, “Lord, I ask You to speak. Lead me in my speaking.” In everything we must let the Lord come in. When we need to think, we must allow the Lord to think for us. We should not depend upon our own mind. When we are about to use our emotions, we need to open ourselves to the Lord and say, “Lord, come in now! Are You happy? Are You sad? O Lord Jesus! My emotions are just a shell that needs Your filling.” We also need to allow the Lord to come into our will to fill our will and to make decisions in us.
Thursday Night Fellowship – God’s Plan (1)
Faith
I Faith and God’s plan
II Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
A The Christian Faith (what we believe)
- The Bible
- The Trinity/The Triune God
- Christ being both God and a man
- What Christ did on the earth
- Our salvation
- The church as the composition of the believers
B What is “your faith”?
1 Peter 1:21 – “Who through Him believe into God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
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What exactly is faith? Is it positive thinking, or determining to believe something even in the face of difficulties? Do some people just have an innate ability to have more faith than others?
The Bible’s definition
Hebrews 11:1 tells us what faith is according to the Bible:
“Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Faith is truly wonderful! For instance, when we were saved, Christ came to live in us. This isn’t something we can verify with our five physical senses, but the Word of God assures us of this fact. It’s also confirmed by our personal experience; we simply can’t deny that He truly does live in us. This is faith operating in us to convince us of something that can’t be seen.
Where does faith come from?
The first thing we must understand is that faith doesn’t originate from within us. We’re not born with a natural ability to believe. If we try to muster up faith by our own willpower, we’ll be discouraged. This is because we’re not the source of faith. Faith comes from God. God allots, or gives, faith to us. Second Peter 1:1 says:
“To those who have been allotted faith equally precious as ours in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
God is not only the Giver of faith, but He is also the Author, the Originator, of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 says:
“Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.”
From the above verses, we see clearly that the source of faith is not found within us. Faith is something given to us by God, and Jesus is the Author, the Originator, of faith.
How do we obtain faith?
As believers, we all have faith. But how did we first obtain it? Romans 10:17 tells us:
“So faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
How did we first believe in Jesus Christ? It was through our hearing of the word of Christ, which includes all of the words recorded in the New Testament. Someone may have told us about Jesus Christ and all He did to redeem and save us. As we listened, we began to appreciate Him. While the gospel was being spoken to us our appreciation of Christ increased, until eventually, a spontaneous reaction took place in us: we believed in Him. Previously we may never have thought much about Jesus Christ or even believed He was real, but through hearing the word of Christ, faith was imparted into us.
Considering our own experience of salvation can help us see how hearing the word concerning Christ made us realize how precious He is. We began to treasure the Lord Jesus and all He did for us. Without even trying, we began to have faith in Him.
So the source of our faith is not ourselves, but the Lord. And in our experience, faith came to us through hearing the gospel of Christ. It didn’t come by striving to believe. The word of Christ spoken into us imparted faith into us. This is how we initially obtained this precious faith from God.
The Believers Needing
Spiritual Companions
I. The principle of spiritual companionship in the Bible
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor; for if they fall, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls and does not have another to lift him up!”
II. Spiritual companions being different than friends
1 Corinthians 15:33 – “Do not be deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
III. An example of spiritual companions in the Bible
Mark 2:3-5 – “And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. And being unable to bring him to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where He was. And when they had dug through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Child, your sins are forgiven.”
We human beings need each other for support and companionship, and we believers also need the support and companionship of other Christians. The Lord doesn’t expect us to live a Christian life all by ourselves.
When we’re all by ourselves as lone Christians, we may become discouraged by our sins or failures and find it difficult to go on in our Christian life. But if we have at least one spiritual companion, we have someone who can lift us up when we fall, encourage us, and help us turn back to the Lord, and at other times, we can do the same for them.
The paralyzed man in Mark 2:3-5 was unable to come to Jesus; on his own he was without hope. But his four friends lowered him through the roof to bring him to Jesus. Eventually, having forgiven the man’s sins, Jesus told him to rise, take up his mat, and go to his house, which he immediately did. Because of what his friends did for him, the man received the forgiveness of his sins and was healed.
When we feel “paralyzed” in our spiritual life, our companions can help us come to the Lord Jesus. We can pray for one another or share with each other something from God’s Word that helps us rise up and go on. Or as we fellowship together, the Lord may shine on something in us, and we realize we need to pray to confess something to the Lord to be forgiven. Even our simple caring for one another in brotherly love can encourage and rescue us when we’re struggling.
Whether we’re new believers or we’ve been saved a while, Christian companionship is necessary for a healthy spiritual life. If we don’t yet have companions, we can pray to ask the Lord to help us find at least one person we can read the Bible, pray, and enjoy Christian fellowship with in a regular way.
Building up a Habit of Reading
the Bible Daily
I. Mix Reading with Prayer to Contact God
Ephesians 6:17-18a – And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition.
II. Read the Bible Consecutively and at a Set Time
Daniel 6:10b – …Three times daily [Daniel] knelt on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, because he had always done so previously.
III. Guard against distractions
2 Corinthians 2:11 – That we may not be taken advantage of by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
Every time we come to the Word, it’s good to first turn our heart to the Lord Jesus. Before we start our Bible reading, we can pray a simple prayer like this:
“Lord Jesus, I turn my heart to you right now. I open to You. Speak to me and wash me in Your Word today. Dear Lord, there is so much more for me to see in Your Word. Enlighten me more as I read today.”
Praying a simple prayer like this will help us be open to anything the Lord would like to speak to us through His Word.
In Psalm 119, we see the psalmist’s love and hunger for God’s Word. In verse 103 he exclaims:
“How sweet are Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
We also can experience this kind of joy when we come to the Bible. We simply need to ask God to give us a hunger for His Word. This is surely a prayer that God would delight to answer.
Sometimes as we’re reading the Bible, a particular verse stands out to us. It may comfort us, convict us, or apply exactly to our situation. Other times, a verse may perplex us. Whatever our reaction may be, when we’re struck by a particular portion we should stop and pray over it. We can thank the Lord or praise Him for the promises we find in His Word. We can also ask Him to show us the meaning of a certain passage or just talk to Him about a verse.
A good strategy to regularly and consistently read the Word is to do so consecutively, chapter by chapter and book by book. This way, we don’t have to decide what to read each time we open the Bible. As we read it from cover to cover, we’ll begin to see how cohesive the Bible is.
It also helps to schedule a time for reading the Bible. An excellent time is early in the morning, before the busyness of the day begins. Other possible times are during lunch or before going to bed. Designating a time helps us remember to read the Word and incorporates it into our daily routine.
Since reading the Bible daily is so important for us as Christians, we need to treasure the time we’ve set aside to enjoy God’s Word. Our lives are full of things that can interrupt or distract us, so we have to be proactive to guard our time designated for reading the Bible.
For example, you may want to silence your phone during this time so that incoming calls, texts, and other notifications don’t interrupt you. Resolving not to respond to these alerts will help keep your focus on the Word. Some people find that reading the Bible on an electronic device is less than ideal because of the many distractions that are right there.
A daily Bible reading habit will lay a foundation for our Christian life, strengthening our faith and helping us know the Lord Jesus in a deeper way. May God grant us all His grace to daily read His Word so that we can grow in our knowledge of the truth!
Assembling Together
I. Who we are – children of God
John 1:12 – But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name
II. Having the life of God
1 John 5:12 – He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
III. What this life needs
Hebrews 10:25 –Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day drawing near.
To Christians, meeting is like water to fish or air to birds. Just as fish need to live in water and birds need to live in the air, Christians need to maintain their life by meeting. Once a Christian stops meeting, he is like a fish out of water or a bird that is not in the air. He has no way to survive.
Every kind of life has its own characteristic or characteristics. The spiritual life that we obtained, the life of God in us, has many different characteristics. Staying away from sin and abhorring sin is a characteristic of this life. Desiring to draw near to God and to serve God are also characteristics of the life within us. Flocking together, that is, assembling, is another characteristic of this life. The life within us wants us to flock together with other believers, to assemble with others. This characteristic demands that we be joined to others instead of being individualistic. Our physical life depends upon drinking water. If we do not drink water, we will be thirsty, but we feel comfortable when we drink water. Similarly, the spiritual life within us has the characteristic of wanting to meet with other Christians, of wanting to flock together with other believers.
In the New Testament the word flock is the same as assembly. The Lord Jesus said, “I have other sheep…I must lead them also…there shall be one flock” (John 10:16). The flock is the church. A shepherd knows that sheep do not like to be isolated; they like to flock together with other sheep. This is amazing. Sheep do not like to roam about in the mountains and fields on their own. This is a suffering and unpleasant experience. However, sheep feel comfortable and at ease when they are in a flock. Christians are the Lord’s sheep. The “sheep’s” life in us demands that we flock together and assemble. If a new believer does not come to the meetings, he will not have much joy, peace, or comfort. If he comes to the meetings, however, he will have joy within as he sings, fellowships, prays, praises, and worships with the brothers since this is a characteristic of the divine life. Christian meetings are the issue of this inward requirement of life.
Christians should not only meet often but should also meet to the extent that meeting becomes a habit, and thus, a meeting life is produced. We need to see that meeting is not an occasional act of Christians; rather, it is the Christian life, just as eating and washing daily are part of the human life.
Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not abandoning our own assembling together, as the custom with some is.” Abandoning the assembling together will eventually become a habit as well. A Christian who develops a habit of not meeting is in a dangerous state and will certainly be unable to stand firm.
Healthy Words Ministry Series – Fall 2020
We will use this page of the Christians on Campus website for the outlines for Healthy Words (our weekly ministry series) each week.
The topic we will cover this semester is “The Lord is my Shepherd”. We will consider how God shepherds us in many ways for our care and for His purpose. We look forward to learn more about this together this semester!
Index of Outlines
- Our Need of Shepherding
- The Five Stages of Shepherding in Psalm 23
- Old Testament Prophesies Concerning Christ the Shepherd
- The Good Shepherd
- The Great Shepherd
- The Chief Shepherd
- The Shepherd of our Souls
- The Eternal Shepherd
- Feeding His Sheep
- Pray-reading to Digest the Word
- The Psalmist in Psalm 119
- Paul’s Testimony in Acts 20
- Being Thankful
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (13)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
Being Thankful
I. The Thank Offering in the Old Testament
Leviticus 7:11-13 – Now this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one shall present to Jehovah: 12If he presents it for a thanksgiving, then he shall present with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil and unleavened wafers anointed with oil and saturated cakes of fine flour mingled with oil. 13With cakes of leavened bread he shall present his offering with the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving.
II. Examples of Being Thankful in the New Testament
Ephesians 5:18-20 – And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit, 19Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord, 20Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father,
Philippians 4:6-7 – In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:15-17 – And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, to which also you were called in one Body; and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Always rejoice, 17Unceasingly pray, 18In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Hebrews 12:28 – Therefore receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may serve God well-pleasingly with piety and fear.
The Christian Life being a Matter of Giving Thanks in Everything
Among the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, three—1 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians—mention the matter of giving thanks in everything. All three of these books were written by the apostle Paul, and their contents show a sequence that is mysterious and wonderful.
The first of these books, 1 Thessalonians, speaks of how we can be saved and how we should have a holy life so that our spirit, soul, and body may be wholly sanctified, making us ready to meet the Lord at His coming. This concerns a proper, general Christian life. The second book is Colossians, which concerns Christ and which eventually speaks about experiencing Christ. The life of experiencing Christ is a life of giving thanks in everything. The third book, Ephesians, concerns the church, and it speaks about the experience of the church. Living in the church is a matter of giving thanks in all things.
Hence, we can see clearly that whether it is the proper Christian life, the life of experiencing Christ, or the church, each concludes with giving thanks in all things. Our Christian life is of three stages: the general Christian life; the life of experiencing Christ, abiding in Christ, and living Christ; and the church life, the life of experiencing the Body. Every stage of our Christian life involves the giving of thanks in everything. Our Christian life is lacking whenever it is separated from the matter of giving thanks in all things.
Prayer and Thanksgiving Being a Christian’s Spiritual Feet
Prayer and thanksgiving are like our two feet; one foot cannot walk without the other. Prayer without thanksgiving will not work; thanksgiving without prayer also will not work. Hence, we must not only pray but also give thanks, and we must give thanks with prayer. We must do both simultaneously. It does not matter which comes first. As long as you have both, you can conveniently walk on the pathway of your Christian life. Likewise, when we take care of and nourish others, we should teach them not only to pray but also to give thanks.
As you walk on the spiritual pathway, do not ask whether you should start with your right foot or with your left. Actually, to this day I still do not know which foot goes first when I walk. If you pay your attention to trying to decide which foot should go first, you will probably have difficulty in walking. Therefore, in our Christian life we should pray and give thanks, and we should give thanks and pray; we should always walk this way. Perhaps before you go to bed, you pray first and then give thanks, but in the morning when you get up, you give thanks first and then pray. Prayer and thanksgiving are a Christian’s spiritual feet. If one foot is missing, walking becomes extremely difficult; if both feet are missing, walking becomes impossible. If Christians do not pray and give thanks, they cannot have a proper Christian life.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (12)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
Paul’s Testimony in Acts 20
I. Background
Acts 19:21 – And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in his spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
Acts 20:16 – For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying so that if possible he might be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
II. Paul’s Testimony
Acts 20:18-21 – And when they came to him, he said to them, You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time, 19Serving the Lord as a slave with all humility and tears and trials which came upon me by the plots of the Jews; 20How I did not withhold any of those things that are profitable by not declaring them to you and by not teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21Solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
Acts 20:27-28 – For I did not shrink from declaring to you all the counsel of God. 28Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood.
Acts 20:31 – Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I did not cease admonishing each one with tears.
Acts 20:33-34 – I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 34You yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my needs and to those who are with me.
Declaring all the Counsel of God
In Acts 20:20 Paul says that he did not shrink from declaring to the believers in Ephesus anything that was profitable, and in verse 27 he says that he did not shrink from declaring to them all the counsel of God. These verses refer to Paul’s three years of teaching in Ephesus and indicate the extent of his teaching.
According to verse 20, Paul taught the Christians in Ephesus both publicly and from house to house. This indicates that at Paul’s time there were meetings in homes. Not only did Paul teach publicly in a larger meeting place; he also taught from house to house. This indicates that the churches had small meetings in the homes as well as large meetings in a public place.
Testifying Repentance and Faith
In 20:21 Paul continues, “Solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” The word “testifying” is used. Testifying requires experiences of seeing, participating, and enjoying. It is different from mere teaching. Paul’s use of this word here indicates that he himself had experienced repentance unto God and faith in the Lord Jesus. Therefore, he could testify concerning what he had experienced. He did not merely preach and teach; he testified of what he had passed through in his experience of repentance and faith.
The Holy Spirit Placing Overseers Among the Flock
Paul’s word in 20:28 is very important: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood.” As in 1 Peter 5:2, the Greek word for “flock” literally means “little flock.” This flock is little in number (Luke 12:32) compared with the world.
In Acts 20:28 Paul speaks of the elders shepherding the flock. The main responsibility of the elders as overseers is not to rule over the flock but to shepherd the flock, to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock, the church of God. The elders are not placed in the church by the Holy Spirit as rulers but as shepherds. Shepherding the flock of God requires suffering for the Body of Christ as Christ did (Col. 1:24).
The Value of the Church as a Treasure to God
In Acts 20:28 Paul says that the church of God has been obtained “through His own blood.” This indicates the precious love of God for the church and the preciousness, the exceeding worth of the church in the eyes of God. Paul expected that the elders as overseers would also treasure the church as God did.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (11)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” – The Psalmist in Psalm 119
I. Seeking God
Psalm 119:2 – Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, / Who seek Him with all their heart.
II. Loving God’s Name
Psalm 119:132 – Turn to me, and be gracious to me, / As is Your custom with those who love Your name.
III. Believing God’s Word
Psalm 119:66 – Teach me proper discernment and knowledge, / For I believe in Your commandments.
IV. Choosing God’s Word
Psalm 119:173 – Let Your hand be ready to help me, / For I have chosen Your precepts.
V. Loving God’s Word
Psalm 119:47 – And I will take delight in Your commandments, / Which I love.
VI. Singing God’s Word
Psalm 119:54 – Your statutes have become my songs of praise / In the house of my pilgrimage.
VII. Musing on God’s Word
Psalm 119:15 – I will muse upon Your precepts / And regard Your ways.
VIII. Standing in Awe of God’s Word
Psalm 119:161 – Princes have persecuted me without cause, / But my heart stands in awe of Your words.
How the Old Testament Seekers Enjoyed and Appreciated God’s Word
Psalm 119:2 tells us that those who enjoyed God’s law in the Old Testament were seekers of God: “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, / Who seek Him with all their heart.” The writer of Psalm 119 was such a seeker.
Psalm 119:132 says, “Turn to me, and be gracious to me, / As is Your custom with those who love Your name.” This verse indicates that the psalmist loved the Lord’s name. Verse 55 says, “I have remembered Your name / In the night, O Jehovah, / And have kept Your law.” When the psalmist awoke during the night, he remembered the Lord’s name. What we remember in the night reveals our true interest, even the thing that occupies us. What do you think of when you wake up at night? If you are one who seeks God, you will remember His name. His name will be your special interest.
Considering God’s law to be His word, the psalmist believed in the word: “Teach me proper discernment and knowledge, / For I believe in Your commandments” (119:66). According to the New Testament, the first requirement in taking the Word of God is that we believe in it. We must believe in its genuineness, its accuracy, its authority, and its power.
Along with the Old Testament seekers of God, we should also choose God’s word. Psalm 119:30 says, “I have chosen the way of faithfulness; / Your ordinances I have set before me.” Verse 173 says, “Let Your hand be ready to help me, / For I have chosen Your precepts.” What a marvelous choice this is! We all need to make a strong decision in favor of the word of God.
In a number of verses the psalmist says that he mused upon God’s word (15, 23, 48, 78, 99, 148). Rich in meaning, the Hebrew word for muse, or meditate, implies to bow down, to converse with oneself, and to utter. According to the Old Testament, to meditate on the Word of God is to enjoy it by musing upon it.
To muse upon the Word is to “chew the cud,” like a cow eating grass. As we muse upon the Word of God, we should “chew the cud.” If we take in the Word too quickly, we shall not have very much enjoyment. But if we “chew the cud” as we take in the Word, our enjoyment will increase. When we muse upon the Word of God, enjoying it and even chewing it as a cow chews the cud, we shall spontaneously pray. Prayer is also included in musing upon the Word. Furthermore, we may converse with ourselves or begin to praise the Lord. We may be so inspired by the Word that we want to shout our praises to the Lord.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (10)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
Pray-reading to Digest the Word
I. Feeding Others: Our Responsibility
John 21:15 – Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs.
II. The Spirit in the Word
John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
2 Timothy 3:16 – All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
III. Feeding on the Word
Psalms 119:103 – How sweet are Your words to my taste! / Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Jeremiah 15:16 – Your words were found and I ate them, / And Your word became to me / The gladness and joy of my heart, / For I am called by Your name, / O Jehovah, God of hosts.
IV. Some Testimonies
The Spoken Words Being the Embodiment of the Life-giving Spirit
We can say that the Spirit and the Word are one because this is clearly revealed in the Bible. The Lord Jesus said, “The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). The Spirit is living and real, but mysterious, intangible, and difficult for people to apprehend, but the words are substantial. Firstly, the Lord indicated that for giving life He would become the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63a). Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the life-giving Spirit. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we receive the Spirit who is life.
Second Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is God-breathed. Every word of the Bible is the breath of God. This breath is the pneuma, the Spirit. Thus, because both the Word and the Spirit are the breath of God, they are one. The Spirit is the breath of God, and the Word also is God’s breath. Furthermore, God’s breath is His pneuma, the Spirit. On the one hand, the Word of God is the Spirit; on the other hand, the Spirit of God is the Word.
Experiencing the Fire in the Word by Pray-reading
Let us use for an illustration a match. The match stick is made of wood, but in essence the match is phosphorus. Now suppose I want to use the match: what shall I do? Of course, I must strike it. But how shall I strike it? If I strike it, using the end without the phosphorus, though I strike till eternity I will get no light. I am using the wrong end. The Bible is the match, and the Lord Jesus, the Spirit, is the phosphorus. The wooden stick may be likened to the black and white letters, the words in the Bible, which hold Christ as the phosphorus. How can we make the phosphorus take fire and shine? We must use the right end of the match, and we must strike it on the right spot. The right end is the Holy Spirit, and the right spot is our human spirit.
Ephesians 6:17-18 tells us that we should receive “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit.” When we read the Word, we should mingle our reading with prayer. As we exercise our eyes and our mind, we should also exercise our spirit to touch the Spirit. Then all that is in the Word will become in our experience the bountiful supply of the Spirit.
If we fail to exercise our spirit in reading the Word, we fail to “strike” the “match” in our spirit. As a result, the “phosphorus,” the Spirit embodied in the Word, does not ignite. If we want to experience the phosphorus embodied in the match, the Spirit embodied in the Word, we need to exercise our spirit to pray-read the Word. Then we shall strike the match in the right place and experience the fire in the Word. We can testify that by taking the Word in the proper way, exercising our spirit, we experience the burning in our spirit.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (9)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
Feeding His Sheep
I. The Lord’s Charge to His Disciples
John 21:15-17 – Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. 16He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. 17He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.
Matthew 24:45 – Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?
II. The Life Supply (Food) in the Word
John 6:63 – It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
John 6:68 – Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
III. Eating then Feeding
Psalms 119:15 – I will muse upon Your precepts / And regard Your ways.
Ephesians 6:17-18 – And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, 18By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.
2 Corinthians 3:6 – Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Acts 5:20 – Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.
Christ Embodied in the Word of Life
Christ, as the bread of life, is embodied in the Word of life. Although the Spirit is wonderful, it is too mysterious. We need something solid, visible, tangible, and touchable—the Word of life. In John 6:63 the Lord says that “the words which I have spoken unto you are spirit and are life.” The Word is substantial.
The “words” in this verse is rhema in Greek, which means the instant and present spoken word. It differs from logos, which means the constant word, as in John 1:1. The Spirit is living and real, but mysterious, intangible, and difficult for people to apprehend, but the words are substantial. Firstly, the Lord indicated that for giving life He would become the Spirit (John 7:39). Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the life-giving Spirit. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we receive the Spirit who is life.
The Word is outside of us. When I receive the Word into me, it immediately becomes the Spirit. When I speak the Word out, the Spirit once again becomes the Word. When you receive the Word into you, the Word becomes the Spirit once more, and when you speak the Word out, it becomes the Spirit again. When we preach the gospel, we are actually preaching the Word. When people believe the gospel, they believe the Word. As strange as it may seem, when people receive the Word, the Word actually becomes the Spirit within them. For example, if you came to the Lord through John 3:16, you might have prayed, “Lord, I thank You that You are so good to me. You have given Your Son to me.” What happened within you when you believed these words? When you believed these words, something within you was quickened and became living. I do not mean that you received some knowledge in your mentality, but that something became so living in your heart and spirit. You believed the Word, yet you received the Spirit. The Word outside of you became the Spirit inside of you. It was the Word without, but it became the Spirit within. When you listened to the Word and received it, you somehow received the Spirit also. This is very mysterious and marvelous.
In John 6:68 Simon Peter said something very interesting. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6 closes with the Word of life, which is the only way to receive the Lord. If you receive the Word, you will have the Spirit within; if you have the Spirit within, then you have Christ as the inner supply of life.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (8)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
The Eternal Shepherd
I. The Eternal Shepherd
Revelation 7:9 – After these things I saw, and behold, there was a great multitude which no one could number, out of every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and palm branches in their hands.
Revelation 7:16-17 – They will not hunger anymore, neither will they thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat upon them, nor any heat; 17For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
II. The Promised Flow
John 4:13-14 – Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, 14But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water gushing up into eternal life.
John 7:38-39 – He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. 39But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
III. The Fulfillment in the New Jerusalem
Revelation 22:1-2 – And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. 2And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
The Shepherd’s Care of the Church (the Flock) in Eternity
In Revelation 7 we see a vision revealing how God preserves His redeemed saints throughout all the tribulations. The insertion in this vision concerning the church gives us an overall view from the time of rapture until eternity. In other words, Revelation 7 ends with eternity. For eternity, the whole church will be under God’s care and under the Lamb’s shepherding.
Revelation 7:9 says, “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number.” The great multitude consists of the redeemed ones throughout all generations from the nations, who are innumerable and who constitute the church. This great multitude consists of those who have been purchased with the blood of the Lamb from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue to be the members of the church.
All of God’s redeemed people have passed through certain tribulations, sufferings, persecutions, and afflictions. No Christian can avoid these things. In our spirit, we Christians are a people of enjoyment. But, on the physical side, we are a suffering people. But one day we shall come triumphantly out of the great tribulation and stand before the throne and before the Lamb. All those in the great multitude in this chapter have palm branches in their hands, signifying their victory over tribulation, which they have undergone for the Lord’s sake. Palm trees are also the sign of satisfaction through watering.
Revelation 7:16-17 say, “They shall not hunger any more, neither shall they thirst any more, neither shall the sun beat upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them and shall guide them to springs of waters of life.” Here we see that the Lamb will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life. Shepherding includes feeding. Under the shepherding of Christ, “I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). The Lamb will also lead us to springs of waters of life. In eternity, we shall drink of many springs and enjoy many different waters. How good this is!
Verse 17 also says that “God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Tears are a sign of dissatisfaction. Waters of life are for satisfaction. Because the Lamb will supply them with waters of life for their satisfaction, they will have no tears of dissatisfaction. The waters of life shall be supplied, and the water of tears shall be wiped away. There will be no tears, hunger, or thirst—just enjoyment.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (7)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
The Shepherd of our Souls
I. The Shepherd of Our Souls
1 Peter 2:24-25 – Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed. 25For you were like sheep being led astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
II. The Parts of Our Soul: Mind, Will, and Emotion
Proverbs 2:10b – And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Psalm 139:14b – Your works are wonderful, / And my soul knows it well.
Job 7:15a – So that my soul would choose…
1 Chronicles 22:19a – Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Jehovah your God.
Song of Songs 1:7a – Tell me, you whom my soul loves…
2 Samuel 5:8a – And David said on that day, Whoever would strike the Jebusites …who are hated by David’s soul…
III. The Life-giving Spirit is Our Inward Shepherd
1 Corinthians 15:45 – So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:16-17 – But whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Matthew 11:28-29 – Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The Shepherd of Our Souls
According to 1 Peter 2:24 Christ our Savior has carried up all our sins onto the tree and died there for us. Now His death separates us from sins and enlivens us so that we may live to righteousness.
In verse 25 Peter goes on to say, “For you were as sheep being led astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Christ was our Redeemer in His death on the tree. Now He is our soul’s Shepherd and Overseer in the resurrection life within us. Our soul is our inner being, our real person. Our Lord, as the Shepherd and Overseer of our soul, shepherds us by caring for the welfare of our inner being and by exercising His oversight over the condition of our real person.
We may think that our problems are with the body. No doubt, the body does give us many problems. Nevertheless, our real problem is in our soul. Our mind, emotion, and will all have problems. Unbelievers are wanderers in the soul, and they do not have a shepherd to take care of them. But our situation is different in that we have a Shepherd who takes care of our soul. Not only do we have the Lord’s life within us, but we also have Him as our Shepherd. He is now shepherding us in our soul.
In our experience sometimes we just do not know what to think about. We do not know where to direct our thoughts. This is an indication that our mind needs the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd. Our emotion, being complicated, is easily upset. Therefore, we need the Lord Jesus to shepherd us in our emotion. His shepherding comforts our emotion.
Our will also needs the Lord’s shepherding. As human beings, we often find it difficult to make the right decision. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to make a decision. Unbelievers have no one to lead them and guide them in making decisions. But we have a Shepherd to lead us and guide us.
In order to be our living Shepherd, it is necessary for Christ to dwell within us. If Christ today were not the life-giving Spirit in us, if He were only the exalted Lord in an objective way in the third heaven, how could He be our Shepherd? For Christ to be our Shepherd, He must be with us, even in us.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (6)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
The Chief Shepherd
I. The Chief Shepherd and the Unfading Crown of Glory
1 Peter 5:2-4 – Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly; 3Nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
II. The Lord’s Charge to Peter in His Resurrection
John 21:15-17 – Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. 16He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. 17He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.
III. The Crown as a Reward
1 Corinthians 9:25 – And everyone who contends exercises self-control in all things; they then, that they may receive a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible.
2 Timothy 4:8 – Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day, and not only me but also all those who have loved His appearing.
The Chief Shepherd and the Unfading Crown of Glory
First Peter 5:4 says, “When the Chief Shepherd is manifested, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” Today we are following the steps of Christ as the Chief Shepherd, suffering what He has suffered. Yet when the Chief Shepherd is manifested, we will receive the reward of the unfading crown of glory.
When the Lord asked Peter if he loved Him, he responded by saying, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You” (John 21:15-16). After the Lord asked him this the third time, Peter could only say, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You” (v. 17). After each of Peter’s three responses, the Lord told him, “Feed My lambs…Shepherd My sheep…Feed My sheep” (vv. 15-17). No doubt, this gave Peter a strong impression that he could never forget. This is the reason that Peter touches the matter of shepherding in his first Epistle. He tells us that Christ is the Chief Shepherd and that he was one of the many shepherds under the Chief Shepherd.
Christ is our Chief Shepherd, and He is the Head of all the shepherds. He leads us to feed, look after, teach, and guide the flock of God according to God’s intention and to become patterns of the flock (vv. 2-3). Christ is the Chief Shepherd, and the believers are shepherds. But do you think that the Lord Jesus by Himself can shepherd so many flocks of sheep? As the Chief Shepherd, He must have a flock of shepherds under Him. We are not just flocks of sheep but flocks of shepherds.
Christ is the Chief Shepherd, shepherding His flock through the elders of the churches (vv. 1-4). All the elders are subordinate shepherds. Christ as the Head is the Chief Shepherd. Actually, we are not the ones who are shepherding. When we shepherd, it should be Christ shepherding through us; it should be He who is in us urging us to shepherd others. Unless the Lord is doing the shepherding, how can we be shepherds? When we go to visit someone and the Lord goes with us, that truly makes a difference.
The reward to the many shepherds under the Chief Shepherd will be the unfading crown of glory, which they will receive at the manifestation of the Chief Shepherd (v. 4). At the apostle’s time crowns were given to victors in athletic games (1 Cor. 9:25; 2 Tim. 4:8). Those were corruptible crowns, whose glory faded. The crown given by the Lord to the faithful ones will be a reward for their loyal service. The glory of this crown will never fade. It will be a portion of the glory for the overcomers’ enjoyment in the manifestation of the kingdom of God and Christ (2 Pet. 1:11). Christ is the Chief Shepherd who will reward the faithful ones, who shepherd God’s flock faithfully, with the unfading crown of glory for their encouragement.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (5)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
The Great Shepherd
I. The Great Shepherd and the New Covenant
Hebrews 13:20 – Now the God of peace, He who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, in the blood of an eternal covenant.
II. The Old Covenant
Exodus 20:2-4 – I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the slave house; 3You shall have no other gods before Me. 4You shall not make for yourself an idol, nor the form of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water beneath the earth.
Exodus 20:15-16 – You shall not steal. 16You shall not testify with false testimony against your neighbor.
III. The New Covenant
Hebrews 8:11-13a – For this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them; and I will be God to them, and they will be a people to Me. 11And they shall by no means each teach his fellow citizen and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all will know Me from the little one to the great one among them. 12For I will be propitious to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins I shall by no means remember anymore.” 13In saying, A new covenant, He has made the first old.
The New Covenant
Before the enactment of the new covenant, God made an old covenant, the covenant of the law. Because the old covenant was faulty, weak, and unprofitable, it was annulled. Hence, through the Lord Jesus, God made another covenant, the new covenant, with all sinners. This covenant is eternal and it is eternally effective.
This covenant is a better covenant. This better covenant was not only enacted upon better promises of a better law, the inner law of life (Heb. 8:10-12), but also was consummated with Christ’s better sacrifices, which have accomplished for us an eternal redemption. Everything in the new covenant is much better than the things in the old covenant.
The new covenant has been enacted upon better promises. These promises are given in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and are quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12. The contents of the new covenant include four items.
- The first item of the new covenant is that God will forgive the sins of all those who believe in Christ and will not remember them anymore. Based upon Christ’s death on the cross, God forgives the sins of all those who believe in Christ, and He does not remember them anymore. This also indicates that God’s forgiving is His forgetting of the sins of the forgiven ones. Once He forgives men of their sins, He forgets their sins and does not remember them anymore.
- The second item of the contents of the new covenant is that God will impart His laws into the minds of those who believe in Christ, and on their hearts He will inscribe them. When we believe in Christ, God immediately imparts His eternal life into us, and by so doing He puts this highest law into our spirit, from whence it spreads into our inward parts, such as our mind, emotion, and will.
- The third item of the contents of the new covenant is that God will be God to them and they will be a people to Him (Heb. 8:10b). This word immediately follows the preceding text, indicating that it is according to the law of life that God is God to us and that we are a people to Him. This means that because the divine life enters into us to quicken our spirit, we can use our spirit to worship God, enjoy God, and fellowship with God (John 4:24).
- The fourth item of the contents of the new covenant is that they all will know God and will not need anyone to teach them. Since God has put the law of life into us, spontaneously we have the function by which we know God. Moreover, this knowledge does not come from outward teaching of knowledge; it comes from the inward consciousness of life. Therefore, anyone who partakes of the life of God and who has the law of life in him can know God subjectively from within.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (4)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
The Good Shepherd
I. The Good Shepherd Gave His Life for the Sheep
John 10:10-11 – The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly. 11I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.
II. Jesus Laid Down His Soul-Life that We might Share His Divine Life
John 10:11 – I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 10:15 – Even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 – And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
III. The Good Shepherd Leads His Sheep out of the Fold and into the Flock
John 10:1 – Truly, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter through the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from somewhere else, he is a thief and a robber;
John 10:9 – I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and go out and shall find pasture.
John 10:16 – And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must lead them also, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd.
The Shepherd, the Divine Life, and the Soulish Life for the Flock
In John 10:10 the Lord said, “I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly,” and in verse 11 He said, “I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” In these two verses two different Greek words are used for life. In verse 10 the Greek word is zoe, which is the word used in the New Testament for the eternal divine life. In verse 11 the Greek word is psuche, the same word for soul, which means the soulish life, that is, the human life. These two verses indicate that the Lord Jesus has two kinds of lives. As a man the Lord has the psuche life, the human life, and as God He has the zoe life, the divine life. He laid down His soul, His psuche life, His human life, to accomplish redemption for His sheep that they might share His zoe life, His divine life, the eternal life, by which they may be formed into one flock under Himself as the one Shepherd. As the good Shepherd, He feeds His sheep with the divine life in this way and for this purpose.
The Lord’s divine life could never be slain. What was slain in His crucifixion was His human life. In order to be our Savior, He, as a man, laid down His human life to accomplish redemption for us that we might receive His zoe life. He laid down His human life in order that we, after being redeemed, might receive His zoe life, the eternal life.
The sheepfold signifies the law of the Old Testament and also signifies Judaism, the religion of the law. Originally, before the first advent of Christ, God gave His law to the people of Israel. What was God’s purpose in giving them the law? Did He expect them to keep it? No, that was not His purpose. Galatians 3:23-26 reveals God’s purpose in giving the law. “But before faith came we were guarded under law, being shut up unto the faith which was about to be revealed.” Before Christ came, we were put under the hand of the law which was to be our custodian. The law was responsible for the care and protection of God’s chosen people and eventually it brought them to Christ. Once we have been brought to Christ, we are justified by faith. Since faith has come—that is, since Christ has come—we are no longer under the custody of the law.
The Shepherd, the divine life, and the human life are all for the flock. In verse 16 the Lord said, “And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd.” Who are the sheep that are not of this Jewish fold? They are the Gentiles. And what is this one flock? The one flock signifies the one church, the one Body of Christ, brought forth by life, which the Lord imparted into His members through His death. Before, the fold was Judaism; now, the flock is the church. The sheepfold was, and still is, Judaism, but the flock is the church. The flock is the church which includes two peoples—the believing Jews and Gentiles. The Lord brings both together into one flock and under one Shepherd. Now, the one flock and the one Shepherd are the one Body and the one Head.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (3)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” –
Old Testament Prophesies Concerning Christ the Shepherd
I. The Evil Shepherds of Israel
Ezekiel 34:2, 4 – Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord Jehovah, Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep?…4The weak you have not strengthened, and the sick one you have not healed, and the broken one you have not bound up, and the one that was driven away you have not brought back, and the lost one you have not sought; but with strength and rigor you have ruled over them.
II. The Mighty One Himself coming as a Shepherd
Isaiah 40:10-11 – Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty One, / And His arm will rule for Him. / Behold, His reward is with Him, / And His recompense before Him. 11He will feed His flock as a Shepherd; / In His arm He will gather the lambs; / In His bosom He will carry them. / He will lead those who are nursing the young.
Matthew 9:36 – And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd.
III. The Lord’s Care both as a Shepherd and a King
Ezekiel 34:11-12a – For thus says the Lord Jehovah, I Myself, even I, will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day when he is among his sheep which are scattered, so I will seek out My sheep.
Ezekiel 34:14 – I will feed them with good pasture, and their dwelling place will be upon the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in a good dwelling place, and on rich pasture they will feed upon the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 34:23-24 – And I will set up over them one Shepherd, My Servant David, and He will feed them; He will feed them, and He will be their Shepherd. 24And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My Servant David will be a Prince among them. I, Jehovah, have spoken.
The Lord Searching for His Sheep and Seeking Them Out
Ezekiel 34:11 says, “For thus says the Lord Jehovah, I Myself, even I, will search for My sheep and seek them out.” As the Shepherd, the Lord not only seeks but also searches. Because of our fallen condition, we were all buried under many evil things, so we needed God to search for us. In Luke 15 we have both the shepherd (signifying Christ as the Shepherd) seeking the lost sheep and the woman (signifying the Spirit) lighting the lamp and searching within the house for the lost coin.
The Lord has done the same thing with us. He searched for us in order to save us and recover us. Before we were saved, we may have been buried under many sins, but the Lord Jesus sought us.
Bringing Them out of the Nations
Ezekiel 34:12-13a says, “As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day when he is among his sheep which are scattered, so I will seek out My sheep; and I will deliver them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries.” Here we see that Ezekiel prophesied that as the Shepherd the Lord would bring His people, His sheep, out of the nations.
This also may have been our experience. When we were fallen as sinners or when we became backsliders, we were among the nations living like Gentiles. Although we were living like unbelievers among billions of others on earth, the Lord Jesus sought us out and brought us out of the nations, out of the unbelievers. You might have been a student among many others, but you alone were sought out and brought back by the Lord Jesus, who then caused you to be different from the Gentiles. Formerly you were the same as the unbelievers, but one day the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd sought you and brought you out from among the unbelievers and brought you to Himself.
Bringing Them Back to the Good and Fat Pasture
Ezekiel 34:14 goes on to say, “I will feed them with good pasture, and their dwelling place will be upon the mountains of the heights of Israel; there they will lie down in a good dwelling place, and on rich pasture they will feed upon the mountains of Israel.” Here we see that the Lord would bring His people back not only to the rivers but also to the good and fat pasture. Whereas the rivers signify the life-giving Spirit, the pasture signifies Christ. By the rivers we have the rich Christ as our pasture. The rivers are for our drinking, and the pasture is for our eating. In the meetings we may have the sense that we are by the rivers and in the pasture, that we are drinking and eating.
Coming to Be the King
When the Lord Jesus comes as the Shepherd, He comes also as the King. The issue of the Lord’s caring for us as our Shepherd is that we obey Him as our King and come under His kingship. The Lord is our Shepherd to be our King, and He is our King to be our Shepherd. On the one hand He shepherds us; on the other hand, He governs us. As we receive the Lord’s shepherding, we understand the Lord’s throne, kingdom, and authority. He is shepherding us with His care and supply so that we may be subject to His kingship and that He may set up His throne and His kingdom within us.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (2)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” – The Five Stages of Shepherding in Psalm 23
I. The First Stage
Psalm 23:1-2 – Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures; / He leads me beside waters of rest.
John 10:9 – I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and go out and shall find pasture.
Philippians 1:19b – …the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
II. The Second Stage
Psalm 23:3 – He restores my soul; / He guides me on the paths of righteousness / For His name’s sake.
Romans 12:2 – And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.
III. The Third Stage
Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk / Through the valley of the shadow of death, / I do not fear evil, / For You are with me; / Your rod and Your staff, / They comfort me.
2 Timothy 4:22 – The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
IV. The Fourth Stage
Psalm 23:5 – You spread a table before me / In the presence of my adversaries; / You anoint my head with oil; / My cup runs over.
1 Corinthians 10:21 – You cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the demons’ cup; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the demons’ table.
V. The Fifth Stage
Psalm 23:6 – Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me / All the days of my life, / And I will dwell in the house of Jehovah / For the length of my days.
2 Corinthians 13:14 – The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The Five Stages of Shepherding in Psalm 23
In Psalm 23 we can see Jehovah as the Triune God. Verse 2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” The color green signifies the riches of life. When we see the green trees and pastures, we see the riches of life. If the trees are yellow and dried up and the grass is brown, this indicates death.
The green pastures signify the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus spoke concerning this in John 10. He said that His sheep would hear His voice and follow Him out of the fold to enjoy the green pastures as the flock (vv. 9, 16). In John 10, Christ is the door (v. 9), the Shepherd (v. 11), and the pasture (v. 9). Christ Himself is our pasture, our nourishment. He is the feeding place for all the sheep. In John 6 Christ said that He is the bread of life (v. 35) to nourish us (v. 57). The “bread” for the sheep is the green pasture, so the green pasture is Christ. Christ can be our green pasture through His incarnation, death, and resurrection. After His incarnation, death, and resurrection, He is growing here as the green pasture for our nourishment.
Psalm 23:2b says that Christ as our Shepherd leads us to waters of rest. The waters of rest are the Spirit. The Spirit is the water, and Christ is the pasture. Verse 5 says, “You anoint my head with oil.” Hebrews 1:9 refers to the oil of exultant joy. This oil signifies the Spirit. John 7:39 says that before Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit was not yet. This means that the Spirit was not yet consummated. The Spirit of God has been consummated through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection. In Christ’s resurrection, the Spirit of God became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Now He is available to us because He has been consummated. In Psalm 23, the Spirit as typified by the waters and the oil signifies the consummated Spirit after Christ’s resurrection.
This psalm also tells us that Christ’s shepherding of us is in five stages. The first stage is of the pastures and the waters of rest (v. 2). Pasture and waters are for our nourishment, including cherishing and enjoyment. The second stage is the stage of the paths of righteousness (v. 3). The paths of righteousness indicate our walk. After we enjoy Christ, are filled up with Christ, and are nourished by Christ, we walk on the paths of righteousness. The third stage is the valley of the shadow of death (v. 4). The valley, the shadow, and death are not pleasant. Christ’s shepherding leads us through the valley of the shadow of death. The fourth stage is the battlefield (v. 5), where we are fighting against the adversaries. At the battlefield a table, a feast, is spread for us. Finally, the fifth stage is to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life (v. 6).
The first stage is the initial stage of enjoyment. This is just like elementary school. In our educational system there are five stages—elementary, junior high, high school, college, and graduate school. This is comparable to the five stages of Christ’s shepherding in Psalm 23. Many of us are in “elementary school” while others are in “high school” in their experience of Christ. A believer who is more mature in the Lord and who has been a seeking Christian for many years may have passed through all five stages of Christ’s shepherding.
Healthy Words Ministry Series
Fall 2020 (1)
“The Lord is My Shepherd” – Our Need of Shepherding
I. God’s People are Likened to Sheep
1 Chronicles 21:17a – And David said to God, Was it not I who ordered the numbering of the people? And it is I who have sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done?
Matthew 10:6 – But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
II. As Sheep We need the Proper Shepherding
Jeremiah 23:1-4 – Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture, declares Jehovah. 2Therefore thus says Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the shepherds who shepherd My people, You have scattered My flock and driven them away and have not visited them; I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds, declares Jehovah. 3Then I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4And I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they will no longer fear or be dismayed, nor will any be missing, declares Jehovah.
III. The Lord is our Shepherd
Psalm 23:1 – Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing.
John 10:11 – I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Revelation 7:7 – For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Christ as our Shepherd in His Resurrection
Psalm 23:1 says, “Jehovah is my Shepherd.” Christ is our Shepherd and we are His flock. The church in the Bible is called a flock. In John 10 the Lord said that He was the good Shepherd who would collect the sheep from Israel and from the Gentiles to form them into one flock, which is the church.
Jehovah, of course, is the divine God, and we are mere humans. How can God, the divine One, approach us human beings to be our Shepherd? If God would come to us in a direct way, that might frighten us. The Bible tells us that this happened when God appeared to various people (Rev. 1:17; Gen. 17:3; Dan. 8:17; Matt. 17:6). The Bible also tells us that no one can see God (1 Tim. 6:16; John 1:18; Exo. 33:20). How can the divine Triune God be so close to us, just as a shepherd is to his flock? Furthermore, how can we sinners, the fallen people, be the flock of the divine Shepherd? According to our fallen nature we are snakes and vipers (Matt. 23:33).
Psalm 23 implies that this Shepherd is the One who became a man, who died for us to redeem us and wash away our sins, and who entered into resurrection to become a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) to regenerate us. As such a One, He can change our nature. Since He has taken these three steps—1) incarnation; 2) crucifixion for redemption; and 3) resurrection for regenerating—He is altogether qualified, equipped, and suitable to be our Shepherd. He is not only God but also a man. He is not only divine but also human. He died for our sins, He was resurrected, and in His resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit.
The Lord Jesus today is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). As the life-giving Spirit, He is our Shepherd inwardly. He is not only with us but also within us. We were snakes and scorpions, but we have been redeemed, we have been washed in His blood, and we have been resurrected (Eph. 2:6) and regenerated. As those who have been redeemed, washed, resurrected, and regenerated, we are the sheep of God’s flock, the church. By Jehovah, the Triune God, being incarnated, crucified, and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit, He is qualified to be our Shepherd. By His redeeming, washing, resurrecting, and regenerating us, we are qualified to be His flock. He is qualified to be our Shepherd, and we are also qualified to be His flock. Psalm 23 is a psalm on Christ as the Shepherd in His resurrection.