Is Discipline Necessary?

(2Corinthians 7:8) “For though I made you sorry with my epistle, I do not regret it: though I did regret it (for I see that that epistle made you sorry, though but for a season)”

Many years ago, it must have been some twenty two years back, where I now sit in the very same room I once heard a question asked that my mind now contemplates. I live in a flat-let that was once used to feed a new church, the Randburg Coastal Assemblies of God. I now live in the very same room. It was in the early stages of my Christian life that I recall a question posed to the leader of the Coastal Assemblies at the time, Mike Atlee. The topic was on suffering for the sake of the Gospel; all young believers bear reproach and struggle with the issues of life as Christians looking for answers, trying to understand all the emotions that go with ones new found lifestyle. Life was filled with so many mixed emotions, not that it changes as you grow in Christ, but hopefully things get a little clearer.

The Apostle Peter teachers us: “For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for it, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” (1Peter 2:20)

It is very clear that if we suffer for doing wrong, we are no different from everyone else; in our lives everyone mostly pays the price for doing the wrong thing . If I steal and I am caught then I am punished in accordance with the law. An example closer to home, after having been warned through the media and various Bill Boards in London that if one is promiscuous the chance of being infected with a HIV virus is very real, if I ignore that warning, which I did many years ago, and I end up with the virus then I am to blame and I will live with the consequences. Over the last seventeen years I have been in hospital at least six times maybe more. I have suffered with dementia, various lung infections, glandular fever, severe headaches, shingles, night sweats and many other complications which can be traced back to one bad decision. I suffer for doing something I shouldn't off done. That is not commendable before God, I got what I deserved! That is Peter’s point! But if I suffer for doing a good deed, let’s say I preach the gospel to a person and he responses to this glorious life giving message and he finds repentance and believes on the finished work of Calvary and he suffers much reproach from the people of his former traditions and religious upbringing as his family and friends persecute him. If they then look to persecute me for bringing this message to him, this would then be commendable before God as I now suffer for the sake of God’s kingdom. I trust the difference can clearly be seen.

The question posed was this, “if I suffer for doing wrong will this work out in my favour as a Christian?” the answer was, “yes it will”, although it may not be commendable before God, it must still work out for our benefit in the long run.

“And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

I was disciplined as a young believer; in fact I was committed to Satan for the destruction of the flesh just like the man in the Corinthian church. That time of my life was a destructive time, and my life was in disarray. Shortly after that I found out I was HIV positive, I lost my company because of a gambling habit, I got divorced and I lost everything I owned through sequestration. Yet, the purpose of it all was to eventually bring me to my senses. I am pleased to say that the discipline worked in my favour as I now serve the Lord. Discipline must only ever be instituted so that it will eventually lead to rehabilitation, which in turn will get us home to heaven.

Let’s look at the Apostle Paul’s intention with the discipline he instituted on that young man in the church at Corinth...

“In the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that thespirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1Corinthians 5:4-5)

The point behind this discipline was to teach him that his sin was serious, but it was so that his “spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”.

We see this to be true when we read Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth; “For though I made you sorry with my epistle, I do not regret it: though I did regret it (for I see that that epistle made you sorry, though but for a season), As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. “For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2Corinthians 7:8-10)

This discipline did not only have an effect on the young man but the entire church was changed because of it. The young man is not singled out again but rather the church, but we must conclude that he also found repentance, because that was the point of the discipline, it was so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

In like manner my discipline also has had an effect on my life which I am now thankful for. Suffering will have its role to play in our lives, whether we suffer for wrong doing or whether we suffer for the doing what is right in the eyes of God. But we must never be under any pretence, the instruction from Peter is very clear, when we suffer let us not suffer as an evil doer but when we suffer let us not be ashamed.

“For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer, or as a meddler in other men's matters: but if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name.” (1Peter 4:15-16)

Nevertheless all suffering will ultimately benefit the child of God and God’s name will be praised.

Signing off

Tyrone

Fear No Evil!

(Psalms 23:4) “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;”

Do we actually believe this verse, David did! As far back as I can remember we used to sing this hymn at assembly in Primary (junior) School, “The Lord’s my Shepherd I will not want” and yet that is all my life has been filled with, “want!” words seem to roll off our tongues with such ease, and yet no real thought is given to what is said. I often say, I love you Lord, but if I loved the Lord I would keep His commandments...

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

How often do I place my own wants and will before my great God? I am sorry to confess, far too often!

How often do I walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil? The sad part of it all is how often have I not feared it and been a partaker in its debauchery. Far too often I must again confess. But having said that and never excusing my sin, I must acknowledge the faithfulness of God even through my disobedience. When I have been able once again to see the wood from the trees I have always seen the faithfulness of my Saviour. He has proved Himself to me, as if God ever needed to prove anything and yet He chose to save me, I am forever grateful. Even now I can recall some of those devastating nights that I faced in absolute terror and frustration as I recall standing on the edge of hell’s abyss ready to be swallowed up, to be lost forever and yet God in his mercy afforded me another opportunity to call out to Him.

I must try and explain how lost I felt, and how the blame rested solely on my shoulders, bad choice after bad choice left me spiralling out of control as the vortex of sin endeavoured to annihilate me and leave me stranded alone, eventually its destruction would have left me in some gutter, begging bread. It was only the grace of God that enabled me, bringing me to my senses as I once again called upon the name of the Lord. Having had so many diverse experiences of God's goodness to me all my days, in troubles a plenty, I will never distrust Him, how could I? No, not in the last extremity; because all he has done for me up until now was not for any merit of my own, but it has been purely for His name's sake, in pursuance of His Word, in performance of His promise, and for the glory of His own attributes and relations to his people, all those sanctified by the blood of the Lamb. Although, I have been the beneficiary of his grace, Jehovah’s name to be praised, and again I say praises to His holy name. That name therefore shall still be my strong tower, and shall assure me that He who has led me, and fed me, all my life long, will not leave me at last. If you once believed and you were truly saved, remember this He will not leave you for the wolves, even if you now are lost call out unto Him, He will rescue you! “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”, although I am in peril of death, in the midst of dangers, deep as a valley, dark as a shadow, and dreadful as death itself,” or rather, “though I am under the arrests of death, have received the sentence of death contained by myself, and have all the reason in the world to look upon myself as a dying man, yet I am free and at peace. “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” I have received a life threatening illness, but I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Disappointment has often surrounded me, and my folly has often found me out, but I will fear no evil for you are with me. You are teaching me to obey, even if I am slow to hear, obedience begins to take root, praise your holy name. “Though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered;” (Hebrews 5:8)

I see your hand at work in my life and I will fear no evil for you are with me. I have looked into the shadow of the valley of death and if one was alone it would be a frightful sight but as I look to my right I see my Saviour there, so I will fear no evil. At times when I look down into the sand I only see one set of footprints, when times were tough and I was without strength, it is not as if you have left me stranded but you rather carried me through the tough times of my life, when obedience was far from me, your faithfulness was ever so sweet, how grateful I am! As I look beyond the shadows and through the valley I see many fruit trees. “Your rod and your staff they comfort me.” Yes my Great God your rod and your staff they most certainly comfort me. Exalt the great name of the only wise God, Prince of peace, Councillor, King of kings, the great I AM, Jehovah God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Merciful God, with righteousness and justice in one hand and grace and mercy in the other, who can fathom the depths of your love, who could ever even begin to measure your mercy. No, not even all the containers in our world would be able to capture the immensity of your goodness. Your rod, my Saviour, your Son, He does comfort me and I will praise His name, for He alone is worthy of shouts of Acclamation. Have you not fed me with the finest of the wheat? I confess, “Yes the finest of the wheat”. God's ordinances are the green pastures in which food is provided for all believers; the word of life is the nourishment of the new man. It is milk for babes, pasture for sheep, never barren, never eaten bare, never parched, but always a green pasture for faith to feed in. Once we have been well fed and our eyes are now fixed on those things which are above, we must be led through the “shadow of the valley of death” yet now we will fear no evil because we have indeed tasted that the Lord is gracious. We must now desire the sincere milk of the word so that we may grow and eventually begin to eat and digest the meat of God’s Word. We must fear no evil; our hope will forever be in the house of the Lord. That day is not far now, just through the valley and up over the hill and we will soon arrive safely, unblemished and there we will eventually find rest for our weary souls. His name will be praised, as people have looked on and often written off God’s elect but all will arrive at that final destination, the house of the Lord will have no unattended chair and then shouts of acclamation like never heard before will roar through the heavens as our God’s name is praised. But until then, may we hold fast the hem of our Saviour's garment and forgetting those things that are behind us let us now shake off the dust from our knees if need be, let us stand and once again begin to run the race with zeal and diligence, lets us all lay hold of our eternal hope and find grace when needed to glorify our God for His name sake, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Enquire of the Lord...

(2Sameul 5:23) “And David enquired of the Lord.”

This portion of scripture has relevance in every believer’s life and if I am honest it is Spurgeon who drew my attention to this truth or rather God through Spurgeon. How often have I walked as a victorious Christian in a particular area of my life and then thought to wash my hands by stepping back and saying, “next”. Only to find myself falling once again in the exact area I thought I had once conquered. The reason for this is possibly some form of pride and definitely the lack of understanding. “We have been saved by GRACE through FAITH which is a GIFT of GOD, not of WORKS lest any man should BOAST.” In other words, our faith, our conversion, and our eternal salvation, are not the mere products of any natural abilities, nor of any merit of our own; these things are not brought to pass by anything done by us, and therefore all boasting is excluded; he who glories must not glory in himself, but in the Lord. There is no room for any man's boasting of his own abilities and power; or as though he had done anything that might deserve such immense favours from God. We do not receive grace because we deserve it, it is the exact opposite, and it is because we are in such desperate need of help that God has had pity on some and poured out His mercy. Our minds in understanding must always be reminded of this truth, as soon as my mind moves from here to look for justification in what I have done, even if it is a good deed, I have fed an orphan and I want to pat myself on the back, I have forgotten my place in God’s kingdom. I have received GRACE through FAITH and it was a GIFT. We must all do good deeds, but when we look for justification in what we do we have not understood the GIFT of God, that GIFT is His Son Jesus Christ the Lord; a free gift to all who would dare to believe this simple message of salvation and fall to their knees in repentance and call upon the name of the Lord.

Let me prove this to be true; why do some believe the gospel message and others don’t? I want you to think about that, we may come up with different portions of scripture to justify why we believe and why some reject the gospel. John 3 gives us a very clear indication of why people reject this life giving message; “and this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19)

All this really proves is that sinners deserve hell; that people love darkness rather than light. But every person that finds themselves holding to this truth as they live in sin, which is darkness have not received the GIFT of God or they have found repentance and now look to live in the light, they once loved darkness but now are drawn to the light. Why some and not others? It is a GIFT of God, some have received a life line, and their eyes have been opened to the light. Why then do we see so many "born again" believers failing in righteousness and why are there so many bad examples in this world of ours? It is because we still have a body that is drawn to sin, it is a body (flesh) that was born into sin and whenever it gets a chance it will run to darkness and yet even with so many failures in our lives we have received the will to walk in righteousness, we may fall, I have fallen many times but I will not and must not look to condone my actions for sin in my life. I will by the GRACE of God fall on my knees and ask for forgiveness. How is it that I find the will to live like this, it is a GIFT of God. God has put this hope in all who confess Jesus as LORD. You may ask why some people look to live like this and not others. I would then ask you, why do we give gifts to certain people and not to others? Is it not in our power to determine who we show mercy too? Yes it is!

In South Africa we have many beggars at the traffic lights throughout our country. Does every person give money to the needy, no, but some do! They have it in their power to choose whether to give or not to give. Does God not have it in His power to give grace to whom He chooses? He certainly does and He will pour out His mercy on whom He chooses. Some will repent and believe while others won’t. The question we need to ask ourselves, has God shown us mercy and if He has we must thank Him for His mercy and never forget that it is a GIFT of God and that we never deserved His mercy but we now have it. The human race demands justice and that is why criminals are brought to trial. We are all guilty of sin and therefore deserve the sentence of hell, but God who is rich in mercy sent His Son to pay the price for sinners, but only repenting sinners will escape judgment, only those who believe on the finished work of Calvary will go free.

I now wish to address those who have received the Spirit of God, those who have by GRACE (free gift) through FAITH received the GIFT of GOD we must never forget that we once deserved hell but now we are free from that sentence. Let our minds not look to justify ourselves now that we are free to serve the living God. David understood this better than most!

Let us now consider my original point; when I begin to walk as a victorious Christian in a certain area of my life and I must never let pride raise its head and begin to justify my actions as if I am better that my brother because he falls in the area I now walk as a victor. If I do this, then before long I will also fall in the exact same area.

David went into battle and he defeated his enemy, but before he would go into his next battle he would enquire of the Lord to ensure that God was with him and that He would give him victory over his opponent.

“When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, “I shall be victorious again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet again. Wherefore should I tarry to seek at the Lord’s hands?” Not so, David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same. He enquired, “Shall I go up against them?” He waited until God’s sign was given. Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if thou wouldst know the path of duty, take God for thy compass; if thou wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped, if we would let our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid, if we would leave to his sovereign will to choose and to command. The Puritan said, “As sure as ever a Christian carves for himself, he’ll cut his own fingers;” this is a great truth. Said another old divine, “He that goes before the cloud of God’s providence goes on a fool’s errand;” and so he does. We must mark God’s providence leading us; and if providence tarries, tarry till providence comes. He who goes before providence, will be very glad to run back again. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go,” is God’s promise to his people. Let us, then, take all our perplexities to him, and say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Leave not thy chamber this morning without enquiring of the Lord.” C.H.Spurgeon

Let us therefore not take for granted the victory we have in our lives in the battle against sin, we must always remember to fall upon our knees and call upon God and find grace in time of need even if we have been victorious in times past, and our dependency must always rest with His mercy.

Signing off

Tyrone

Time of Testing!

(Luke 8:13) “They believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

How long will it take I wonder to learn this simple principle? How long will I continue to want to “put off” without “putting on”? We must put off the filthiness of sin in the flesh but in order for that to have a lasting effect in our lives we must put on righteousness. We must involve ourselves in the race; we must enrol in the game of life and death. We will either live for the flesh looking to satisfy its wants or we will be looking for spiritual fruit that will enable us to walk in victory on this somewhat tiresome road. We will receive strength in and through our Saviour if and when we call upon Him. But the mistake I continually make is this. I look to put off what I know to be wrong in the eyes of God, but I forget to put on righteousness when doing so. The result is often unfruitful; it however is always fruitful when I remember to put on righteousness.

Let me use an example to help illustrate my point; if I am a chocoholic and I wish to stop eating chocolate. The very first application I must apply to achieving this goal is carefulness; I will avoid chocolate factories or the sweet section whilst shopping. I will take my eyes and the lust for chocolate away from any temptation as far as it is possible. This is the first fruit of repentance. I remember when I was newly saved, how as a babe in Christ I took no thought for carefulness, I was protected just like a mother protects her new born baby from danger. It was only once I started to walk and find my feet and I started to grow as a Christian that I then needed to make a decision on whether or not I would be careful and avoid certain establishments that would lure me into sin. So many bad choices through life and yet my faithful Redeemer is yet ever so patient with me. I have understood in theory the purpose of life as I think King Solomon understood and concludes in the book of Ecclesiastes, he says “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

In other words, regardless of how long you have been saved or how many times you have failed or fallen in appropriating this to your lives, the sole purpose for all our lives is to find obedience to God. Life must teach us to learn to be obedient to God and His Word. If we have been afforded an opportunity to see another day and we yet breathe here on earth, then God is graciously giving us another opportunity to put that which is wrong, right.

However we must follow the pattern of scripture to accomplish this correctly. We must understand the theory, and then we must appropriate it to our lives. What then is the theory? God hates sin to such an extent that His own Son became a curse as He hung on a tree for our sin. Sin is the exact opposite of who God is, God is love, but love must judge sin and so God judges it by sending His Son to die for sinners, causing them to repent and find forgiveness, this happened once, and it has been establish for eternity and God is now satisfied with His Sons sacrifice. The Lord Jesus said, “It is finished”. Every true born again believer is sanctified by Christ’s sacrifice, they will never be judged for sin. And yet, we who are dead to sin must now no longer live in sin. There must be an ongoing process of sanctification in our lives and this must be applied to our lives on a daily basis. This constant war between the flesh and spirit will stay with us until we fall asleep (die). But sin cannot and must not be allowed to reign in our mortal bodies! Our lives must always be full of repentance. This then is the theory!

How then must I apply it to my life to live as a victorious Christian? I must “put off”, put off what? I must put off anything that robs me of my relationship with God. In every area of my life, I must learn to put it off. This is where I often fall short and I find I am constantly dusting the dirt from my knees. I am not for one minute suggesting that we go on an obsessive hunt looking for sin in our lives. It is the obvious I address. Firstly I need to be honest with myself and recognise sin for what it is, once that is settled, I need to find grace to overcome. This is where the war takes place, I will either be full of joy as I find grace to conquer or I will beat myself up as I walk in shame as I buckle to the temptation. The Lord Jesus never buckled, no not once!

The worst time in my life was when I walked in sin and pretended that I was human and therefore excused the sin in my life. There is no peace there! It is a lie and if that is what you find you are doing in particular areas of your life, I then urge you to stop that thought and kill it now or you will remain miserable for as long as you live there. Sin is like cancer once it takes root it grows at a rapid rate looking to destroy the spirit of life and peace in a believers life. We must keep short accounts!

How then do I “put on” and what must I put on? I must put on righteousness, sin comes a knocking as a thought into my mind and it then looks to take root and once it takes root it brings forth death, in other words once it is rooted in my mind I then succumb to its will. “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:15)

I must look for grace immediately when any though enters my mind that is in opposition to God’s Word. We are all entitled to enter the “Throne Room of Grace” to find grace that will help in time of need. I must learn to fall to my knees and cry out to God my Father in the mighty name of Jesus Christ my Saviour to help me find grace and suppress the temptation. This is what it means to walk in the spirit; I must find victory through the spirit. I must not look to the systems of the world to accomplish my objective. In other words if I do not find grace by calling out to my heavenly Father just as the Lord Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, then my victory will be short lived as I look to my flesh to overcome instead of relying on the finished work of Calvary. “Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."” (Matthew 26:42)

God then sent an angel to strengthen Him; “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.” (Luke 22:43)

If I am dependant on my own ability then I minimize the work of our Saviour. God forbid we ever enter that thought process. In conclusion I “Put On” by crying out to God to help in time of need and even if that means I end up calling through many tears.

I realise that I often fail to live like this but as long as my heavenly Father gives me breathe this will be my goal, to find obedience to Him with my life.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10:13)

I have not yet learnt this principle with any consistency to my life but I pray that this will change from strength to strength, and not only in my life but in the lives of all you who call upon the name of the Lord.

Signing off

Tyrone

The name Jesus!

(Matthew 1:21) “You shall call his name Jesus”

We address one another by name; we use words to describe a person’s character, he is kind and gentle or we could say he is brash and obnoxious; it is our name which gives us our identity. Our names are used to identify us within a crowd or at home amongst family; even nicknames play a part to our lives growing up amongst friends. If I think about the name given to me from about the age of fourteen, I must confess and conclude that it helped form my character. Now I am not implying that always has a positive outcome in one’s life, but nevertheless it helps form a person’s character. What chance does someone have of disappearing into the shadows of a crowd and not being noticed with a nickname like Typhoon! Throughout the bible names have been carefully selected to fit each personality, God has purposefully instituted names to depict a person’s persona and to help illustrate truths throughout scripture. Lets us consider a few... rōōth (ריּת, rūth; explains the word as an abstract noun = “friendship.” Ruth means companion in friendship and when we look at the book of Ruth we see a commitment from her to Naomi, a friendship beyond any expectation and it is clear for all to see.

Derived probably from שׁמשׁ, shemesh, “sun” with the diminutive ending ון-, -on, meaning “little sun” or “sunny,” or perhaps “sun-man”; Σαμψών, Sampsṓn; Latin and English, Samson: His home was near Bethshemesh, which means “house of the sun.” Samson would mean that he is “like the sun”. One thing for sure, the sun is notice by all, it can be beautiful at sunrise and yet deadly at noon. Samson was like this in character, he fed his parents honey from the belly of a young lion that he had killed and it was pleasant to the taste, it had a tranquil effect on those who ate of the spoil and yet he slew a thousand Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey, the harshness of the noonday sun cutting into all of creation will shade the only option to escape its severity.

David means – well beloved and we know that David was a man after God’s own heart, so we can safely deduce that the fruit of him who is greatly loved will result in him having a heart after God.

“The proper, as Christ is the official, name of our Lord. To distinguish him from others so called, he is spoken of as “Jesus of Nazareth” (Joh_18:7), and “Jesus the son of Joseph” (Joh_6:42).
This is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (Num_13:8,Num_13:16), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (Num_13:16; 1Ch_7:27), or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua, whence the Greek form Jesus. Christ means theAnointed, the Greek translation of the Hebrew word rendered “Messiah” (q.v.), the official title of our Lord, occurring five hundred and fourteen times in the New Testament. It denotes that he was anointed or consecrated to his great redemptive work as Prophet, Priest, and King of his people. He is Jesus the Christ (Act_17:3; Act_18:5; Mat_22:42), the Anointed One. He is thus spoken of by Isaiah (Isa_61:1), and by Daniel (Dan_9:24-26), who styles him “Messiah the Prince.” This name denotes that Jesus was divinely appointed, commissioned, and accredited as the Saviour of men.” (Easton)

This is of all the best examples we have in scripture to prove the relevance a person’s name has in relation to their calling.

When a person is dear, everything connected with him becomes dear for his sake. Thus, so precious is the person of the Lord Jesus in the estimation of all true believers, that everything about him they consider to be inestimable beyond all price. “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia,” said David, as if the very vestments of the Saviour were so sweetened by his person that he could not but love them. Certain it is, that there is not a spot where that hallowed foot hath trodden-there is not a word which those blessed lips have uttered-nor a thought which his loving Word has revealed-which is not to us precious beyond all price. And this is true of the names of Christ-they are all sweet in the believer’s ear. Whether he be called the Husband of the Church, her Bridegroom, her Friend; whether he be styled the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world-the King, the Prophet, or the Priest-every title of our Master-Shiloh, Emmanuel, Wonderful, the Mighty Counsellor-every name is like the honeycomb dropping with honey, and luscious are the drops that distil from it. But if there be one name sweeter than another in the believer’s ear, it is the name of Jesus. Jesus! it is the name which moves the harps of heaven to melody. Jesus! the life of all our joys. If there be one name more charming, more precious than another, it is this name. It is woven into the very warp and woof of our psalmody. Many of our hymns begin with it, and scarcely any, that are good for anything, end without it. It is the sum total of all delights. It is the music with which the bells of heaven ring; a song in a word; an ocean for comprehension, although a drop for brevity; a matchless oratorio in two syllables; a gathering up of the hallelujahs of eternity in five letters. C.H.Spurgeon

Signing off

Tyrone

Appointment with Death!

(2Corinthians 6:2) “For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

This morning my thoughts are with my grandfather and his last hours here on earth. From as far back as I can remember, he was not a church-goer like my nonna (grandmother) but he seemed to hold the bible in high regard in one form or another, he was most definitely not saved until he was on his death bed or there about, yet after he passed on I noticed that his bible seemed to be well read with hand written notes tucked away inside the bible, that he himself had penned. He had often looked for scripture that would no doubt excuse him for the many bad decisions he had made throughout his married life. I will not dare to speak on behalf of another man as it is only God who sees the heart of a man. Did God not say David was a man after His own heart? Yes He did and even with the knowledge of David’s extreme sin, God still makes such a statement. Why? The answer is obvious, or at least it should be. God was able to see passed all the sin that so easily besets a man and when David’s sin had been exposed by God through Nathan the prophet, David fell to his knees not looking to find justification for his sin but rather sort repentance with a sincere and contrite heart. He was a man after God’s own heart!

My granddad (oupa) went into hospital late on in years to have a stomach operation which ended with complications and it eventually lead to him passing from this life to the next. But whilst still in hospital I was informed by the family that He had ended up in intensive care and they were not convinced that He would make it. I was living in Cape Town at the time and felt the need to get to Johannesburg and with one last effort to minister Christ and His saving grace to him. The burden was strong and it compelled me to drive the 1450km from the Africa’s most southern tip to Johannesburg. Alongside his bed I would read portions of the bible to him, with the nurses witnessing this encounter. I do not recall what was read, but one day I was discussing the gospel with one of the nurses as she was questioning me on certain aspects of my life as she was reading my life autobiography. Oupa was fast asleep one minute and then he suddenly awoke which was a pleasant surprise as he had slipped off into a deep sleep and was now awake. It was the words that came out of his mouth that brought utter surprise yet my emotion was mingled with joy. He said, “God wants true repentance!” It was as if he had been listening to the banter back and forth between the nurse and me on the topic of salvation. I still wonder to this day, what encounter he had whilst in his deep sleep. I do know it must have been real! I believe he possibly found repentance there. I believe he is in heaven and that I will see him again one day. He had been afforded the opportunity and the privilege on his death bed and with old age on his side he was forced to consider the life here after with serious deliberation. Not everyone is given that opportunity, some die a sudden death, and some die at a young age in an accident and the like. One minute life is their ouster and then the next they open their eyes on the other side. They now await the judgement of God.

At the age of twenty seven I recall standing in a doctor’s office as he told me in a somewhat choked tone that I was infected with the virus HIV. My life flashed before my eyes and as a young man and by default I was forced to consider death. I could have sat with my grandfather even then and had a serious conversation about our upcoming event, death! I was also afforded the opportunity, a wakeup call by my loving heavenly Father to examine my life and the disobedience to it. I was given a chance to repent of my lifestyle and turn to Him. I had a choice to make, I could have looked for justification and said why me! Or I could fall to my knees and ask for forgiveness for my wayward life.

God is merciful and long suffering with many of us in this world of His. We all deserve hell and yet He affords us endless opportunities to repent and call out to Him. Why is He so gracious, why does He love us so? The answer is obvious; He loves us because His Son, the Lord Jesus laid down His life for us. That does not cover the unrepentant, they will all face the wrath of God but His love will and does indeed cover all those who repent and confess Jesus as Lord.

The summit I look to drive home is if you still breathe and have not yet been summoned to death, then you still have the opportunity to call upon the name of the Lord. The other point is that we do not know the date that has been appointed to each of us for fatality. Yes I do believe God’s word implies that we all have a specific date with death.

“And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment;” (Hebrews 9:27)

This verse tells us that we will all live one life in this body of ours and then somewhere along life’s journey we will die. Whether we have an actual date written down in heaven for our death is irrelevant, the aim for us to understand is we do not know the actual date. We must think of today as possibly our last here on earth in the context of repentance and finding forgiveness for our sin before it is too late. Some live to a ripe old age some are infected by terminal illnesses and others die in motor vehicle accidents. I do not know, and you do not know when it will happen for us...

“For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

I wonder is God speaking, you decide!

Signing off

Tyrone

Speak the Truth in Love...

(Ephesians 4:15) “But speaking the truth in love,”

Truth is when we understand all the facts about a particular subject and then we can make an informed decision. We will not be deceived, into doing something that we think may be the right decision, in other words truth corresponds to fact or reality and alleviates all deception. Truth cannot attempt to deceive by falsehood. The antonym of truth is dishonesty, and the father of lies is the devil. God is truth and He is perfect in truth, in other words He cannot lie, in fact it is impossible for Him to lie. “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” (Hebrews 6:18)

Can God do anything? The very first reaction we have when we answer that question is to say yes He can, but that would be inaccurate. Can God Lie? Absolutely not! The text tells us it is impossible for God to lie. He could never choose to lie, as He would then act outside of His character and this He cannot and will not do. If God worshiped another god beside Himself it would make Him an idolater as He is the only true God.

We need to understand the severity of this fact, God can never lie, and so when He said He will see us through unto the end, faith must believe that He will accomplish all He has set out to do. “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” (Hebrews 3:6)

As believers we better believe this with all our hearts as fact that can only ever be true.

The devil is the exact opposite in character; this is what the Lord Jesus had to say about Him in the gospel of John when addressing those who claimed the right to salvation because of a promise to Abraham their father, they were self-righteous but far from the truth, the Lord Jesus said: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

He is full of deception and “deceit” is his middle name. He will often use half truths to lure the weak, and he has often used men’s weaknesses to bring down the strong. I suppose one of his greatest tools must be pride. We know that God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble. Men are full of pride; even saved men are often lured into this trap. Brothers use scripture against one another looking to be exalted and find favour as the victor in a particular point. Already I have hit a sore point I can actually sense the opposition. Let me then prove my point; Paul and Barnabas worked alongside preaching the gospel and many were converted and followed them.

“And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.” (Act 13:43)

These two brothers in Christ worked side by side until one day a difference split them, it had such an effect on both brothers that they actually parted company.

“And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other.” (Act 15:36-39)

I understand that this disagreement was not over doctrine, but we must all agree that these two wills opposed another, which resulted in a split in what was once a harmonious relationship of unity for the sake of the gospel. Pride had its part to play. The tragedy of it all was where this dispute left the babes in Christ; it affected God’s precious flock. How often I have seen this exact same thing happening amongst Christian organisations today. Do we take proving a truth to the extent of division amongst believers too far? I will leave you to answer that question, you decide. I do not speak about blatant false doctrine and all the roving wolves of today that pretend to be sheep, drinking the blood of God’s precious saints, I have no time for them! They will face the wrath of God on judgment day; they will receive their portion in the Lake of Fire. However, we all have a measure of pride, which must be chiselled out of the heart of every believer; God will always resist the proud but give grace to the humble. His word is clear on this fact; there is no wiggle room here my brothers.

The concern I have for us is seen clearly with the example Paul raises with the church at Corinth. “For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human?” (1Corinthians 3:4)

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1Corinthians 3:6-7)

It is clear to see what happens when people begin to side with preachers, there focus shifts from their first love, from God and onto man, this is not good and it will affect our walk with the Lord. We must always remember our first love, He alone must receive all our attention, He alone is worthy of all our consideration.

Let us not be ignorant of the devils devices! Even to my “Amil” (amillennialism) brothers if Satan is already bound you must conclude that pride still plays a serious role amongst believers; let us then arm ourselves against this evil.

May God give us strength to humble ourselves and find forgiveness in our hearts to forgive those who have trespassed against us, may He begin to stir all His true children with a sincere desire to lock hands with one another as we enter into the final stretch of this our race here on earth before the return of our great Saviour, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us always speak the truth one to another but always in the bonds of love. If we are children of God, then we are in the same family and have the same Father, let us treat one another as our own, let us love with brotherly love.

Signing off

Tyrone

The Unity of God

(1John 4:14) “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

I want to explore the depths of this statement. Here again we see an attribute to God’s individuality that boggles the mind but at the same time brings immense joy. My mind would want to accredit salvation solely on the shoulders of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus; I would be in error if I thought like this! I understand that the Lord came to the earth to live as a man and then without ever entering into sin He died on a cross for the sins of mankind. He suffered on the cross; He trusted His Father and whilst in heaven as Father, Son and God the Holy Spirit they discussed the plan of creation and they laid out their script which involved man and his fall, and after his separation from God how he would be reconciled back unto God. Their plan needed to be accomplished within their character, which will always be in a sphere of righteousness with justice prevailing. This meeting must have taken place somewhere in the past within the wheel of eternity, He (the Lord Jesus) said, “Send me”! On conclusion the Father then said I will send Him as God the Holy Spirit would of affirmed the decision. Here we see God in perfect unity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all equally involved in the salvation plan of all those predestined to become son’s of God. There is absolutely no tension in their decision; they are unified in perfect harmony, not a cord out of tune. We are also encouraged to pursue unity amongst one other as believers, it shows maturity in understanding.

“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)

God is always unified in Himself; we on the other hand have to learn to find unity as believers in Christ. But never to the expense of sound doctrine, is it the love of doctrine when applied correctly in application and in the bonds of love that will bring unity. Possibly another thought for another day.

Now with God unified in their decision to save sinful mankind and as John and the other witnesses, “testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”

I consider another thought that God processed, not only were they unified in their verdict but it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:” (Isaiah 53:10)

It was a pleasure for God to send Christ to die on a cross for us, the saints of God. We are also taught that the Lord Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

He accomplished all of His Fathers will, He died, was buried and on the third day He rose again. He is now in heaven seated at the right hand of God the Father. How I now wrestle for God the spirit to now write these truths deep within the recesses of my heart, equipping me with a clearer understanding of what it meant for God to send His son to die in my place, in our place! To Imagine God our Saviour nailed to a tree and as a man who had total confidence in God His Father and yet He personally faced the wrath of God His Father. It was such an intense moment that our God insures that we understand his Son’s suffering and gets Matthew and Mark to pen this account for all to examine; in Matthew it reads, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

And then again in Mark it reads, “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

Just in case we missed it the first time round. The God-Man Jesus deserted for the first and the last time by God the Father as He hung upon a cruel roman cross as the Father righteously pores out His wrath, as he judges His son for the sins of mankind. In judging His Son, He judges Himself as God for our sins. We must remember that God is and always will be totally unified as the Trinity, three in one. Do not ever think for one single minute that man has a whole lot of options in which to find favour with God; it is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that we can come and find favour with this awesome God. There is no other way! I cannot with any certainty speak of our Fathers emotional state but I can imagine it was heart rendering, however that may have played out in His righteousness, He nevertheless carried out their eternal plan, Isaiah tells us, "that it pleased God to bruise His Son." There is a day coming in the not to distant future where all those who will not bow to Jesus Christ as Lord, will be forced to bow as God then executes judgement on all those who would not repent and believe on His only begotten Son. All those who think they know better than God Himself, what a treacherous day that will be. Today is the day of Salvation, flee to the Rock and fall on Him, crying out in repentance to Him, for the sun will soon set and then the Rock will fall on you, with Hell your ultimate destination. I dare not chew over this notion as it is too horrible for words. Suffice to say that hell will be a place full of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Lord Jesus always works what the Father wills. In the wounds of the dying Saviour see the love of the great I AM. Let every thought of Jesus also be a thought connected with God, the Trinity, the three in one.

“We too frequently ascribe the honour of our salvation, or at least the depths of its benevolence, more to Jesus Christ than we do the Father. This is a very great mistake. What if Jesus came? Did not his Father send him? If he spake wondrously, did not his Father pour grace into his lips, that he might be an able to minister of the new covenant? He who knoweth the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost as he should know them, never setteth one before another in his love; he sees them at Bethlehem, at Gethsemane, and on Calvary, all equally engaged in the work of salvation.” C.H.Spurgeon

As God worked in the salvation plan for mankind, may we take comfort in the fact with the same assurance that God is for us and not against His Children. We are loved because of our Saviours obedience and let us never forget that He who has begun a good work in us will complete it. We will one day be able to fall to our knees in heaven and sing praises unto our God as we wash His feet with our tears. Until that day, let us press on in faith clinging to the promises of God in hope.

Signing off

Tyrone