Devotional materials. Week commencing Sunday 31st October 2021
Information
Biblical Evidences for God at Angmering Baptist Church.
Because of the increasing atheism in our culture we continue to look at biblical evidences for God through DVD presentations.
All are welcome.
All DVD presentations take place on Saturday mornings. 10.00am prompt, followed by refreshments. There is no charge:
DVD. Stars and galaxies, 6/11, finishes our look at Creation as an evidence. Spike Psarris was previously an engineer in America’s military space programme. He entered that programme as an atheist and evolutionist. He left it as a creationist and a Christian. Discover evidence for design in the heavenly bodies. Recent discoveries contradict the naturalistic view of history and you’ll hear the words of secular astronomers as they admit their models fail to explain the contents of the Universe.
The Bible also points to our Moral Awareness as an evidence for God. The Moral Law is based on John 1: 9 the Word (Christ) ‘who was with God and was God, was ‘The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.’ Similarly Romans 2:15 where Paul describes how the requirements of God’s Moral Law are written on the hearts of the Gentiles ‘their consciences also bearing witness.’ All people have moral awareness from God, whether they believe in Him or not.
This moral awareness can be skewed however by the 'sinful nature' in rebellion against God (Romans 7: 7-25), and by the evolutionary world view:
DVD Evolutionary ideology fuels Racism (13/11). Darwin wrote of preserving the 'favoured' races. His theory has provided justification for Nazism, Eugenics and Abortion. The biblical worldview, however, eliminates racism. There is one race, descended from Adam and Eve. Ken Ham also refers to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) This lecture covers natural selection and genetic evidence from the Human Genome project which corroborates we are all One Race.
DVD. Medical doctor Tommy Mitchell, 20/11, addresses Death and Suffering. Why do disease, war, and disaster claim countless lives? How could a loving God allow people we love to suffer and die? He examines the divergent evolutionary and Christian perspectives here and on Suicide and Euthanasia. (Assisted Suicide is currently being pushed for in Parliament)
DVD. Sexuality. 27/11. Jesus says “Haven’t you read that at the beginning God made them male and female? (Matthew 19: 4; quoting Genesis 1:27). Dr Rosaria Butterfield. formerly Professor of English and Women’s Studies, author of a book in feminist theory and previously partnered to another lesbian woman, articulately describes her conversion to Christ.
DVD 4/12. Right and Wrong. If we rule God out of right and wrong we must try to find grounds for moral thinking in nature, our individual opinions, or surrounding culture. John Blanchard demonstrates none of these provides a coherent basis for distinguishing good or evil.
(NB. We cannot give the full titles of DVD presentations here because this is a restriction in our Video license)
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Call to Worship
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Pet.2:9)
Hymn
‘The Lord’s my Shepherd’ (Piano, MP 1008)
Stuart Townend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSlfFUwmyFc
Prayer
We certainly praise You Lord for Your love and goodness shown to each of us. Thank you for the love that has brought us out of darkness into light, forgiveness of sins and new life in you. Thank you for bringing us into your family here and your church across the world. You call us your children, accepted and loved by you. Thank you that one day we will take our place with people of every tribe, nation and every Age and together we will be lost in “wonder, love and praise as we see you face to face. Now Lord please lead us by Your Holy Spirit so we know your presence and love for us today and every member of your church may serve you in truth. Through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” Amen.
Hymn
“Jesus put this song into our hearts” (Guitar, MP.376)
Graham Kendrick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w_QwKAdd8A
Reading. John 17: 20-26
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’
Prayers
“Lord we pray for the unity of your church. Help us to see ourselves as rays from one sun, branches of a single tree, and streams flowing from one river. May we remain united to you and to each other because you are our common source of life. And may we send out your light and pour forth your flowing streams over all the earth, drawing our inspiration and joy from you.
Lord, unless we remain in you we cannot love. We thank you for the many promises and assurances that you, Lord Jesus, live in us. Your Word tells us that patient endurance is ours in Christ. We need more of you and less of us manifested in our lives if we are to show such love and unity.
Similarly we thank you for your marvellous generosity. Every blessing, whether material or spiritual is a free gift from You- and not because of any deserving on our part. You loved us first and you loved us when we were your enemies. We rely on your Holy Spirit, that we use the gifts you have given us, not as a means of gratifying our own selfish indulgences, but rather to build one another up, as members of your body the Church.
Equip me today, O God, with:
The humility which will keep me from pride and conceit
The graciousness and the gentleness which will make me both easy to live with and a joy to meet
The diligence, the perseverance, and the reliability which will make me a good workman
The kindness which will give me a quick eye to see what I can do for others, and a ready hand to do it.
The constant awareness of your presence which will make me do everything as unto you
So grant that today people may see in me a glimpse of your life in me O Lord.
Let’s now remember those who are suffering sickness or some other painful circumstance. A time of quiet for you to bring those you know who are in need of God’s grace in such ways now……………………
Jesus our healer, we place in your gentle and generous hands those who are sick. Ease their pain and heal the damage done to them in body, mind or spirit. Be present to them through the support of friends and in the care of doctors and nurses, and fill them with the warmth of your love now and always. Amen
And as we pray for your generosity Lord, we remember we are called to be your witnesses. Help us to make our Saviour known to others- through our words and our lives. Through our prayers and our gifts, for His sake. Amen”
Hymn
‘’Let there be love shared among us’’ (Piano MP 411)
Dave Bilbrough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEuS7Ut7kqI
Sermon. ‘Jesus and our Unity in Him’
Introduction
In this part of His prayer the Lord Jesus prays for the whole church throughout all ages- those who will believe in him through His disciples’ word (verse 20). This assumes the witness of his disciples will be effective. (Jesus has already taught that he has other sheep not of ‘this fold’ John 10:16) and He must ‘bring them also so there will be ‘one flock, one shepherd). The implication is that Jesus sees into future centuries; how He, as the ascended Christ, will add Gentiles as well as Jews to his Church. He prays here for all who will yet believe, and that includes you and me today.
And what is the burden of Jesus request? It is unity- ‘that they may all be one’ (21).
This unity resembles the Father and Son’s Oneness (21)
Jesus prays ‘that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me, and I am in you.’
When we look at the oneness between the Father and the Son, the unity is staggering. Jesus says the Father is ‘in Him.’ When we read John 14:10 we realise every word He says is given by the Father. The Father is at work as the Son turns water into wine, feeds the five thousand and raises Lazarus from the dead.
The Father is in the Son. But the Son is also in the Father: when the Father created all things He created them through the Son: ‘All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.’ (John 1: 3).
We look at Jesus’ earthly ministry and we see complete prayerful dependence on the Father and obedience to him: ‘Father not my will but your will be done.’ The Son also saves and keeps all those the Father gives to him: ‘All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. (John 6:37, 38).
The unity between Father and Son is profound. We cannot have the spiritual, divine unity they have. But Jesus is praying we will have a unity that resembles theirs in our purpose, in our inter dependence and in our actions together:
When we look at living matter we see how the Creator has built in this union of inter- dependence and purpose. Dr Paul Brand refers to a body’s cells. These, he says ‘have a nearly infallible sense of belonging.’ They work together ‘every heart cell obeys in tempo or the body dies.’ Specialised functions of movement, sight and consciousness take place because of the co- ordination of a hundred trillion cells.’
The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 describes how we are many and varied members of one body- Christ’s body. As we all use our respective gifts and build each other up in love, the whole body functions as One- as God intended.
So we are no longer independent as believers, but each of us is part of Christ’s body. We work together like the members of the Trinity and the cells in our bodies, in a unity of interdependence and purpose.
That means renouncing old values, where we used to compete on the basis of power, wealth and talent. Such cells in the human body are cancerous, destructive. Rather, Christ, the Head, has given us a new identity and purpose. We build one another in encouraging words and actions. We serve each other and work together in following Christ’s commands. We use His gifts in worship, in practical helps, in teaching, in one to one encouragement, in working together evangelistically, in giving. We’re diverse and specialised but these combine to create a richer unity.
This unity resembles the Father and Son’s Oneness
Further, this unity proceeds from the believers union with God.
The unity between Father and Son is not only to be the pattern for our unity. Our love for one another is only possible when we ourselves are in vital union with the Father and Son. Jesus does not only pray in verse 21 ‘that they may all be one, as you Father are in me and I am in you.’ He adds ‘may they also be in us.’ We love others because we are in a vital union of love with God. His love is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 says ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us.’
The believer already experiences God’s love by His Spirit and desires to first love God. Out of this condition the believer obey Christ’s command to love others. This union with Father and Son must be first. Without it we cannot love sacrificially. As Jesus said ‘apart from me you can do nothing’ (5).
There is another parallel here with the cells in our bodies. How do they work together so effectively? The secret lies locked away inside each cell nucleus, chemically coiled in a strand of DVA. Each cell carries the identical DNA- the entire instruction book of the body- of one hundred thousand genes. Brand writes ‘DNA is estimated to contain instructions that if written out, would fill a thousand 600 page books. A nerve cell may operate according to instructions from volume 4 and a kidney cell from volume 25, but both carry the whole compendium.’
We could say all these cells work together because they have this same genetic code, and just as each cell is enlivened by a common DNA so we too must be infused with Christ. Each one of us feeding on Him and His Word. Out of that relationship and an enabling by Him we follow his instructions; so each member of His Body works together.
The language of union between the believer and God and consequent love for others is best described in Jesus’ teaching in ‘The Parable of Vine’ (John 15: 1-11). We looked at it in depth last week, but suffice to say Christ is the vine and we are the branches. The branch draws its very life from the vine. The picture speaks of the believer’s vital union with Christ. Out of that union we are to bear the fruit of love for one another.
The purpose of Unity (21, 23)
The purpose of unity is our witness to unbelievers. What non-Christians see in us is what they believe about God. Jesus wants them to see our love for one another- ‘that the world may believe that you have sent me’ he says, but if they see hatred and division, their view of God will be obscured. But the world is impressed when it sees Christians love each other and live together in harmony:
One young woman wrote: ‘I didn’t like being selfish, but there was nothing I could do about it. I went away to College. I started exploring many different things. I began to doubt God’s existence. I attended a Christian Conference just to please my parents. When I got there I was really hit hard by the happiness of the students there and their love for each other, since most of the people I knew were trying to be happy but not succeeding…I just had to accept him right then…since that time my life has never been the same. I’ve found so much joy that I want to tell everyone about Christ…God has also changed my attitude towards my family. Rather than doing all I can to selfishly satisfy myself, I want to reach out and help others.’
Christian unity that overcomes human divisions is particularly compelling. Unbelievers know only Christ can account for such unity:
Jackie Pullinger is well known for her remarkable work with drug addicts in Hong Kong’s notorious ‘walled city.’ She describes how people from diverse backgrounds became Christians as they responded to the love of Christ shown through those who had already come to believe:
‘So we began to build homes. Old Walled City brothers built showers, toilets and a kitchen. Ex –street sleepers built a garden and paved floors. Ex- addicts started a T- shirt printing factory and sewing room. Residents were joined by volunteers from every walk of life. Many were touched by the almost tangible love of God, and began to join us on Sundays when we worshipped. So it became a not uncommon sight to see an ex-addict sitting next to a bank president, a barrister flanking a street sleeper. Men and women such as these began to go out together daily to visit poor families, prisons, and those living in the streets and hospitals.’
Growth in unity (22, 23)
In these verses we see how important growth is in our union with God is if we are to grow in unity as His people.
Verse 22 we see the Father has given the Son His glory. The radiance of the father, living and shining through Him. Remember Jesus said the father was ‘in him.’ Astonishingly the Son has given us this glory. We are invited to increasingly partake of it. To increasingly partake of God’s nature and riches- His pardon, righteousness, truth, love, joy, knowledge, wisdom and so forth. As we do, our unity one with another is deepened. Because, although we enjoy a measure of unity now, verse 23 indicates we will be brought to a complete unity- ‘that they may become completely one’ which suggests growth over time. There are then these dual lifelong processes- growth in our union with God, promoting growth in our union with one another.
Applications
Ecumenical application
David Watson wrote ‘the existence of some 9000 Christian denominations across the world is an insult to Christ…and the greatest hindrance to the spread of the Kingdom.’ The ecumenical movement (usually dated from the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910) is the attempt to encourage Christians from different denominations to cooperate, particularly in mission. The idea being based on our passage. As the world sees such cooperation, such unity between denominations, they will believe.
Pro ecumenical writers like Leslie Newbegin want to stress our point here; that growth in our union with God leads to growth in unity as His People. He points to Ephesians 4 that says we are to maintain the unity of the Spirit until we reach unity in the faith. Newbegin in his book ‘The Household of God’ comments that we begin with diverse views but the Spirit gradually enlightens us all over time towards a common mind. From this assumption he argues ‘a vast amount of intellectual disagreement is possible’.
However, I think we need to be careful here. Truth and love go together. Bruce Milne writes ‘New Testament unity is based on conscious commitment to the revealed truths of apostolic Christianity’ which includes the ‘Apostolic Authority of Scripture.’ Jesus has already prayed in John 17:17 ‘sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.’
But I believe this ecumenical ‘growth’ principle still has a place. No single person or group of Christians has a monopoly on the whole counsel of God. It is tragic where some churches seem to continually splinter within and from other churches in the name of Truth. All Christians are imperfect and still growing. While we see ‘dimly’ here- as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13- while our knowledge is imperfect, then there will variation of interpretation of the Scriptures on some secondary matters. So we must remain humble, bearing with one another; open to God and open to hear Him speak through an unfamiliar but fellow believer. This avoids rigid uniformity and a dismissive attitude. It avoids what the Bible calls ‘party spirit’- the feeling that our little group is always right. And instead makes for an enriched unity.
Family application
So too in our family relationships, we need growth in our union with Christ. One lady spoke to me about her non-Christian husband. He wondered about the value of Christianity because he was aware of couple who were both professing Christians and some of these had broken up.
Professing Christianity is not just a mental belief about Christ or even an initial coming to Him. It’s growing in Him, learning the nature of love, self-sacrifice, servanthood in submission to God- and seeing these principles translate into our family relationships. As Paul teaches ‘husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her…’ and ‘wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.’ (Eph.5: 22, 25). But without our growing in union with the Lord, we wont have this love and unity, nor the power or inclination to live this way.
The perfecting of unity (24)
Here in verse 24, the Lord encourages his disciples to look forward to that time in eternity when they will see His glory fully revealed. They and we will together see His glory as God; the glory He enjoyed before His mission.
And we will dwell forever in His presence. The Scriptures reveal a vision of joy and perfect union. We will be united together and with Him. (2 Cor.3:18 describes how) we are being transformed into the Lord’s image, by the Spirit, ‘from 1 degree of glory to another’, but then 1 John 3:2 says ‘we will see him face to face and we will be like him.’
The book of revelation pictures this Union through use of light imagery. Revelation 21:23 pictures the ‘New Jerusalem’- the Church- completely energised by and reflecting the ‘glory of God.’ John adds ‘its lamp is the lamb.’
CS Lewis comments on other imagery used in Revelation that symbolically ‘express the inexpressible.’ Among these images he refers to crowns. ‘Crowns’ he writes, ‘are mentioned to suggest the fact that those who re united with God in eternity share his splendour and power and joy.’
Conclusion
Are you a lone Christian?
Or are you sharing in the vital unity of God’s people?
Let us remain in the Son and the Father, partake of God’s glory and then live out what we receive from the Lord. Serving the Lord together, so those who do not know Christ see God’s love in us and are drawn to Him.
Look forward with assured hope to that day when you will experience perfect union with the Lord and His people in eternity
Sadly our increasingly secular society only thinks in terms of relationships one with another and wonders why there is no unity. When the Lord speaks about unity with one another He says as much about our unity with Him.
Verse 26 reinforces this same point. God lives in us the Church. We are His living temple. And the Lord prays others will come to know the love of the Father and experience it in the unity among His people. Let us make this our prayer too.
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Hymn
A hymn of praise and adoration to God. By His power he grows the church and expands his Kingdom. Here and one day, when we His Church will be presented to Christ without blemish and united. One flock.
“Tell out my Soul”
Timothy Dudley- Smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT0uq5kYyOU
Blessing.
Go in peace, be very courageous, hold on to what is good, do not return evil for evil, strengthen the faint hearted, support the weak, help the afflicted, honour all people, love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; and the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you” Amen.
David Barnes 27/10/21
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