There is a time for everything and especially for looking at things in a different way

There is a lot of pressure these days from advertising and media to consider ourselves as the most influential and important ones. In this passage we see the direct opposite of that. The disciples of John the Baptist were concerned when people started responding to Jesus’ ministry in increasing numbers. John said to them ‘He must increase, I must decrease’.

John also said that the ‘bride’ is joyful when she sees the ‘bridegroom’ arriving and identified himself as among those who were joyful at the coming of Jesus. John understood that it was only Jesus who could save people from their sins and that he would do this through dying on the cross and rising again from the dead.

There are also some very important words for us as the end of this passage. Whilst for some there will be great joy, for others there is great danger …….. ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them’. The modern focus on our own importance stands in stark contrast to the vital wisdom of John.

  In order to see this light we must first understand our own darkness

In this passage we find that the people were speculating about Jesus because he had come from Galilee. They did not accept who he claimed to be, and actually was, as ‘the light of the world’. His coming had, however, been predicted a very long time before by the prophet Isaiah.

The natural position of all people is ‘darkness’. This is because ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’. Jesus came as the light which the darkness cannot overcome. He is the one who was without sin. He promised that those who follow him would ‘walk’ in the light.

In order to see his light, we must first understand our own darkness. In this way the meaning of the cross becomes clear to us. Jesus went to the cross, even though he was innocent. Through trusting in what he has done for us, as a substitute and sacrifice, we are brought out of darkness and into the marvelous light … forgiven and set free.

The most important use of spiritual gifts is for the benefit of others.

Spiritual gifts should be all about Jesus … what he has accomplished in his death and resurrection … the greatest gift of all. In their use however there have been not only good experiences but also some bad ones. In this passage the first gift mentioned is prophecy (forthtelling prophecy or what is more commonly called preaching). The second one is tongues (heavenly/ ‘angelic’ language or ordinary ‘earthly’ language).

Prophecy is to be preferred among the gifts because through it the church is built up and unbelievers are saved. Because a preference for one particular gift is good is not to say that all other gifts are bad. Prophecy, however, has the potential to build up the whole church. The reason for the writer’s comments about the problem with tongues is that they had taken priority in Corinth and no one could interpret them. This is why people who have this gift are encouraged to use it in private. The language of the church should never be ‘tribal’.

  How do we deal with the age old problem of emptiness?

Emptiness is a problem which people have experienced throughout the ages. The whole idea of employment is to fill the hole which emptiness creates … but what about the emptiness of the heart. In this passage we find that the thing which can fill this emptiness is not from ourselves but comes from the one who provides us with true worship.

Here Jesus and his followers were passing through Samaria even though Samaritans did not get along with Jews because they had different places of worship. Neither Samaritan nor Jew had realized the emptiness of what they were worshiping until a Samaritan woman, who was also suffering from the emptiness of numerous broken relationships, is asked by Jesus for a drink.

Jesus’ request touches a deep seated need in the woman’s heart … her need for ‘living water’. The woman was looking for physical answers to a spiritual problem. She finds the answer to her emptiness, not in multiple ‘husbands’ or false worship, but in the one, Jesus himself, who has provided eternal life, the forgiveness of sins and fulfillment in the true worship of God.

King Saul reacted badly to a stern message he had received from the prophet Samuel. People must not quit like he did when things don’t work out to please them. Saul needed to learn that, as the King of Israel, everything must be done for God’s glory. If Jesus, the King of kings, had been proud He would never have gone to the cross.

Saul’s son, Jonathan, however, did not quit but went into battle against the Philistines. Jonathan acknowledged God’s power rather than his own. He trusted in God and won a great victory. When people trust in Jesus they find that His blood, shed on the cross, stops them from wanting their own way.

We can easily be discouraged if we look in the wrong direction

Discipline can be defined as ‘training in order to obey’. We see discipline in the preparation of athletes for the Olympics. We also see it in the relationship between parents and children. Parents, however, don’t always get it right. It is often more about them than the development of the child.

When it comes to God and his people, he always gets it right. Paul reminds his readers in this passage that they need discipline because, in this world, they will suffer for their faith. Discipline is for their good. It is actually a sign of God’s love. It is not about punishment but about submission to God’s will, which leads to maturity.

Jesus Christ was perfected in his role as Messiah through suffering so that, in looking to him, God’s people would not lose heart. They are to seek peace as they live in a troubled world, knowing that they have no power of their own. The gospel, of which they are stewards, is God’s power … forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection, received by faith alone.

There have been many and varied approaches to the matter of authority over the years. Perhaps one of the most surprising was that of the Queen’s uncle, King Edward V111. His relationship with an American divorcee, who he wanted to marry, sparked a constitutional crisis. This ended up in him abdicating the throne rather than ending the relationship.

In this passage we find a startling approach to authority by the apostle Paul where he sets aside his authority and appeals to Philemon, in the matter of forgiving his runaway slave, on the basis of love. The slave, Onesimus, had become a Christian while he and Paul were in jail. Paul was not in jail for anything he had done wrong but for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We can learn 3 things about authority in the way Paul writes to Philemon, who had also come to Christ under Paul’s ministry. Firstly, authority should prefer to appeal rather than command. Secondly, authority should be willing to intercede. Paul uses paternal language in writing to Philemon about his slave. Thirdly, authority is willing to take the place of another. Paul had been willing to give up everything to everyone that they might come to Christ. It is a beautiful picture of how Jesus used his authority for us. He did this by going to the cross.

   In order to see this light we must first understand our own darkness

In this passage we find that the people were speculating about Jesus because he had come from Galilee. They did not accept who he claimed to be, and actually was, as ‘the light of the world’. His coming had, however, been predicted a very long time before by the prophet Isaiah.

The natural position of all people is ‘darkness’. This is because ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’. Jesus came as the light which the darkness cannot overcome. He is the one who was without sin. He promised that those who follow him would ‘walk’ in the light.

In order to see his light, we must first understand our own darkness. In this way the meaning of the cross becomes clear to us. Jesus went to the cross, even though he was innocent. Through trusting in what he has done for us at the cross, clothing us in his righteousness by faith, we are brought out of darkness and into the marvelous light … forgiven and set free.

Things are not always what they seem.

There are a lot of misunderstandings about the gospel. One of them, which is highlighted in this passage, shows that some have difficulty grasping the fact that it places every believer on the same level.

The early church in Antioch was composed mainly of non-Jewish converts. When a group of Jewish believers came down from Jerusalem, however, the apostle Peter left the table fellowship of the non-Jewish believers in order to eat with the Jewish arrivals who had separated themselves. The apostle Paul, who was in Antioch at the time, opposed Peter to his face and said that his behavior was not in line with the truth of the gospel.

The seriousness of this incident cannot be overstated and, sadly, it has been repeated many times ever since in various forms. It is a weighty reminder to the fact that the gospel places every believer in every age on the same level … justified in Christ, alone. Jesus’ death on the cross was for our sins and we receive this forgiveness through faith … it’s not about what we do but what He did for us. Factions in the church are a contradiction of the gospel. Denominations show that we have misunderstood the gospel.

  It is a deception which restricts the understanding to only what can be seen with the naked eye.

The book of Revelation is, for most, very hard to read. It is important to remember two things. Firstly, the sequence in the book is not chronological and it sometimes rewinds. Secondly, it is highly symbolic even though it represents real things which are unseen by eye.

In this passage there is a ‘trinity of evil’. The dragon, the first beast coming out of the sea, and the second beast coming out of the earth. These spiritual forces are the enemies of God and his people. They deceive the inhabitants of the earth and persecute those who love and follow Jesus. They do not, however, succeed. God’s people will always be kept safe and the persecution they suffer only serves to purify them.

There has been much confusion over what is called ‘the number of the beast’ which is 666. This number is not something that has to be decoded. It is the number for man and has reference to the beginning of the earth. The number 6 represents failure and is one short of the number 7 which is God’s number for perfection. The ‘trinity of evil’ can never prevail against God because in both the seen and unseen worlds his purposes are always accomplished. We see this in Jesus’ death on the cross and in Jesus’ resurrection.