Week Commencing Sunday 7th March

Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 7^th March 2021

Call to worship

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. Micah 5:2

The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel- which means “God with us.” Matthew 1:23, citing Isaiah 7:14.

The early disciples of Jesus knew the Scriptures well. Life in the small towns of Israel revolved around the synagogue, where the Old Testament was constantly read and taught. The disciples were looking for the coming of the Messiah, also called “The King of Israel” So when the Messiah came they recognised him.

Hymn (Piano)

Jesus is king and I will extol him 

Give Him the glory, and honour His name 

He reigns on high, enthroned in the heavens 

Word of the Father, exalted for us 

We have a hope that is steadfast and certain 

Gone through the curtain and touching the throne 

We have a Priest who is there interceding 

Pouring His grace on our lives day by day 

We come to Him, our Priest and Apostle 

Clothed in His glory and bearing His name 

Laying our lives with gladness before Him 

Filled with His Spirit we worship the King 

 Holy One, our hearts do adore You 

Thrilled with Your goodness we give You our praise 

Angels in light with worship surround Him 

Jesus, our Saviour, forever the same 

Wendy Churchill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGE9vpWebK8

Reading. John 1: 43-51

⁴³ The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

⁴⁴ Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

⁴⁸ “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

⁴⁹ Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” ⁵¹ He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

Hymn (Guitar & violin)

Jesus is the name we worship;
Jesus is the name we trust.
He is the King above all other kings,
Let all creation stand and sing
That Jesus is our God.

Jesus is the Father's splendour;
Jesus is the Father's joy.
He will return to reign in majesty,
And every eye at last shall see
That Jesus is our God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POmIxtEr9Rk

Sermon. “Heaven Open”

What is the main way a person is introduced to Jesus Christ? Have you ever thought about that? You read of some in Islamic states putting their faith in Christ because he reveals himself to them through a vision. Others encounter Jesus because they may wander into a Church or evangelistic event and hear the Gospel preached. But few today will do that of their own volition. They might of, once upon a time, when there was wider Christian influence in this country and Churches were seen as part of the Establishment- a force for good. But our increasingly secularised society has led to more suspicion of the Church. Many non-Christians even have a fear about entering a Church.

The main way by which a person is introduced to Jesus Christ is when a Christian talks to that person about him: “Philip found Nathanael and told him “We have found the one….Jesus of Nazareth.” (John 1:45). Philip found Nathanael and witnessed to him. That is how people are introduced to Jesus Christ. New followers of Jesus witness about Jesus to others, who in turn become followers of Jesus Christ and repeat the process. Think back to when you became a Christian. For most here you came to know Christ because someone had talked to you about Jesus, shared the difference Jesus made to their life and this challenged you to discover Jesus for yourself. It’s important that we witness to others about Jesus. Of course we show Jesus’ love by our actions, our care for others, but the distinctive we have to share with others is this “I have found Jesus….you can come to know him too”

Prejudice

When Nathanael first heard about Jesus, he was prejudiced. “Nazareth” he said, “can anything good come from there?” (1:46). Nazareth wasn’t considered a desirable place to live. It’s part of the wonderful humility of Jesus that he was content to be known as “Jesus of Nazareth”. That’s where he grew up. He could have tried to correct this and be known as “Jesus of Bethlehem”. After all Bethlehem was where he was born and Bethlehem had royal overtones- a place associated with King David. The book of Micah prophesied the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. That would have made it even clearer that Jesus was the Messiah.

On a couple of occasions people actually use it as an excuse not to follow Jesus because they say he’s from Nazareth and not from Bethlehem. They didn’t look into it properly. That’s what prejudice does- it believes the worse and stays with what it thinks it knows. Prejudice refuses to seek out the Truth. When you first share with someone about Jesus, the first thing they say is usually some excuse that is tainted with prejudice.  It sounds reasonable, but it’s a convenient excuse to keep a person from the truth: “Christianity gave us the Crusades”, “I don’t believe God created the world”¹, “I’m all right I never did anyone any harm”, “I’m not the religious sort” or “There’s too much suffering in the world” or “Faith in Jesus is just one of many religious options”. Stay with what I think I know, erect an excuse to keep me from looking into the truth about Jesus. Remain prejudice against Him.

Jesus didn’t kowtow to prejudice- if certain people wanted to believe he was born in Nazareth without checking out the facts- then they condemned themselves. Prejudice does not excuse a person before God.

What is the answer to prejudice? - “come and see” That’s what Philip said to Nathanael. “Come and see”. Honest enquiry is the only cure for prejudice. Look into it properly. Some people throw up the excuses I mentioned before as a smoke screen for their prejudice. But others really want to know. How do you know if the question you have is a mark of prejudice or you really want to know? Honest enquiry- if you don’t check it out, you’re still prejudiced. There are excellent publications to help with some of these questions. Individual books devoted to any one of those questions. The Alpha Course book “Searching Issues” (by Nicky Gumbel) looks at several together. Look into it.

But most specifically we “come and see” Jesus. Philip invited Nathanael to “come and see” the Lord. And we must encourage our non- Christian friends to seek Jesus for themselves. To pray to him. To open a Bible and read it prayerfully. Even if someone says “Jesus I don’t know if you’re there but if you are help me to see you in what I’m reading- show me more about you. I believe, help my unbelief” And the Lord will meet with that person. 

One person I spoke with told me he initially attended a Church because he thought it might be of help to his children. He didn’t think Christianity had anything for him because he had assumed that being a Christian was about being a “do- gooder” and keeping certain rules- “no smoking”, “no drinking” and so on. He thought he was a pretty good person- he hadn’t done anyone any harm and he was alright as he was. He thought what’s the point of being a Christian if it’s just about being a good person?-  you can be one of these without being a Christian. But then as he attended services, he came to realise the heart of Christianity was Jesus Christ and knowing him. This made him curious, and with some help from a Christian he started reading verses from the Bible that made it clear that he was not the good person he thought he was. His prejudice about what he thought Christianity was all about was getting challenged and cleared out of the way. As he read Jesus words about the seriousness of sin he started seeing areas in his life that needed to change. And as he did so his feelings of guilt increased. What was he to do- the standards of Jesus teaching were impossibly high. But then he was guided to verses that spoke about the cross and what Jesus accomplished there. He read about forgiveness freely given, acceptance before God all because of Jesus death on the cross for him. He then read other verses that taught if he gave his life to the Lord it would be God’s Spirit living in him, working over a life time to make him more like Jesus. He began to realise good works would be a fruit of the relationship and not a way to try and get right with God And over time as he thought and began to pray, he started entering into the reality of these truths. He started off reading about Jesus, but actually it seemed that Jesus was now “reading” him. Guiding him, challenging and encouraging him in various aspects of his life. He quickly began to discover that Jesus knew him inside out. Changing his bad attitudes, improving his family life. This man only wished he’d set aside his prejudice earlier and come to experience the life in Christ God had intended for him from the beginning. Knowing Jesus is not narrow or restrictive, knowing Him is the best thing that can happen to you.

We read how Jesus knows Nathanael. (47, 48) Jesus knew he was a man without guile. Jesus says things that show he knows all about Nathanael. And Jesus is the only one who knows all about you. Your sins, your frustrations, but the Lord also knows what he can make of you. The purpose he has for you. Do you feel your life is meaningless and futile? You may have a lot of stuff, even a contented family life and satisfying job- but none of this is actually the life you are deep down searching for. Only your Creator really knows you and only the Saviour truly loves you. So the sooner you lay aside the prejudice that restricts you and seek him, the sooner you will be known by him and find life in Him

Jesus has supernatural knowledge about Nathanael’s character. Jesus also knew where Nathanael had been previously- “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree” At first this sounds odd- why the reference to sitting under a fig tree? But we should realise that devout Jews would seek out the shade of a fig tree as a place for meditation and prayer. Nathanael is so impressed with Jesus knowledge of him that he too is persuaded Jesus is the promised Messiah. He says “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel”. Then Jesus makes Nathanael a…..

Promise

“Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that” He then added, I tell you truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (50, 51).

The promise is that Nathanael shall see heaven open.

To understand the promise Jesus makes here, we need to know the Old Testament background Jesus is drawing upon. He is referring to Jacob’s dream recorded in Genesis 28. Genesis 28 verse 12 reads “He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels were ascending and descending on it”

Now the ladder Jacob saw in his dream was a massive structure, reaching up from the earth far up into heaven. The ladder was wide as well as high, so that numerous angels travelled on it. The dream spoke powerfully to Jacob. It showed him there was great interest in heaven concerning what took place on earth. And Jacob sees heaven open. He sees multitudes of these angels coming down from heaven to earth to carry out God’s commands, then returning to report and receive further instructions.

So what do angels do? Hebrews 1:14 says “Are not all ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation”. This is the angel’s main function- to serve the person who will inherit salvation. Angels take a very special interest in God’s people and give them encouragement to persevere as they work out their salvation and grow in their faith.

This is what the Lord wanted Jacob to know. Jacob was on the run from his brother Esau. He was fearful and alone. But the Lord gave him this dream to reassure Jacob that he was not alone, heaven was open and a whole host of angels had come out to oversee Jacob’s future. The Lord’s plan was to bless Jacob and give him numerous descendants. The Lord intended to raise up the Messiah through Jacob’s offspring who would bring salvation to people of every nation. The Lord was reassuring Jacob about these purposes and saying “look, here are these ministering angels to make sure it’s going to happen”. These angels will safeguard my purposes to bring salvation through you. What tremendous encouragement to Jacob and indeed to you and I as we work out our salvation- despite trials and temptations, the Lord and his angels encourage and strengthen us and keep us on the right path.

Jacob saw heaven open, the Lord sent his angels to earth to safeguard His salvation purposes through Jacob and his descendants.

Now what about the fulfilment of Jesus promise to Nathanael? How would Nathanael see heaven open?

Nathanael may well have been reading about Jacob and his dream as he sat under the fig tree. And now here is Jesus and he says to Nathanael “You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (51)

You see what Jesus is saying? Jesus is claiming that He Himself is Jacob’s ladder. Christ is God’s ladder between heaven and earth. He is the promised Messiah who will bridge the chasm and reconcile God and man. This is God’s salvation first promised to Abraham and then Jacob so many years before. When the angels come from heaven they can only help safeguard God’s saving purposes. When The Messiah comes down from heaven he himself is that salvation. Jesus opens up heaven for all who put their trust in him. And this Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

We are all guilty before God. There is a great chasm between God and man and we will be judged for our sin. The punishment for this sin is eternal separation from God. This is what the Bible calls hell (See Update 19/7/20 Appendix). God is perfect and we are sinful. There is a gap between us. Our sins separate us from Him. Something is missing in our lives that nothing else-relationships, money, work or health- can satisfy. We may try to bridge this gap through doing good, helping others or following a religion. But all our efforts fail because they can’t deal with the problem of sin.

But although we deserve to be cut off from God, in his love God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. Through Jesus God has bridged the gap that separated us from him, and provided a way for us to be forgiven and restored to relationship with him.

In 1914-1918 war phone communications had broken down between headquarters and important forward positions. Much depended on their restoration. But the repair job was very dangerous. It was exposed to enemy fire. To attempt it was to invite death. One young engineer crawled out between the barbed wire, succeeded in repairing the severed wires, and was shot to pieces. Communication between headquarters and the men in the front line was restored, but it had cost the life of this courageous man. Jesus in a far more profound sense, restored communications between God and man, communications that had been cut by our sin and self-will.

Is heaven open for you?

Jesus is the ladder between heaven and earth. In John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me”. Through his death and resurrection Jesus has quite literally opened up heaven for any who now put their faith in him. It’s not enough that you just know the facts about this salvation. We must each respond by asking Jesus to come into our lives. Then we can know God personally and experience his love and forgiveness.

You must accept Jesus for yourself. John 1:12 says “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Accepting Jesus involves agreeing with God that you are sinful and deciding to turn from your sin. You need to trust God to forgive you completely because Jesus died for your sin. You must now choose to follow Jesus, putting him first in your life.

It may seem to you an impossible step to surrender your life to him in this way, but his angels are sent to encourage you , his Spirit will empower you and the Lord promises to watch over you should you follow him.

One day heaven will be opened for you. If you are a believer your spirit will enter directly into heaven to be with Christ. The Lord Jesus will send his angels to accompany you from earth to heaven, because Jesus Christ is Jacob’s ladder. Should you and I still be here when Christ returns 2 Thessalonians 1: 7 tells us the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his powerful angels. He will take us to be with him in heaven. But there is a sober warning for those who refuse to turn from their sin and take the Lord as their Saviour: “he will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” For them heaven will be closed.

Today heaven is still open and Jacob’s ladder is in place. Look what Christ has done for you through the cross. This is God’s salvation, prophesied in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New. Don’t despise it, but instead turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ. He promises to come into your life when you accept him. Do it today. He says “Look I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (Revelation 3:20).

Prayer

Lord Jesus I want to know you personally. I’m sorry for going my own way instead of your way. Thank you for dying on the cross to forgive my sin. Thank you for opening up heaven for me. Please come and take first place in my life and make me the person you want me to be. Amen

¹ Day webinar (UK) on Origins Saturday 20^th March, seven presentations, seven speakers 12pm-8pm “Demolishing Arguments” https://answersingenesis.org/outreach/event/demolishing-arguments/  

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Hymn (Guitar & violin)

Verse 2
You loosed the cords of sinfulness,
and broke the chains of my disgrace;
You chose the cross.
Up from the grave victorious,
You rose again so glorious;
You chose the cross.
The sorrow that surrounded You was mine.
Yet, "Not My will, but Yours be done," You said.