The Bible In One Year Psalm 77:1-9 · Acts 15:1-21 · 1 Kings 9:10-11:13 · June 22 Day 173 The Christian Life is Not Easy He was arrested for preaching the gospel. His wife died leaving him with four children, one of whom was blind. Yet he refused to give up preaching the gospel. He wrote his greatest work in a prison cell. It has been a source of spiritual inspiration and help to countless readers. It has never been out of print since the day it was first published in 1678. It has been translated into over 200 languages. It tells the story of a person called ‘Christian’ facing a life full of challenges and persevering faithfully until the end. Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory written by John Bunyan. It tells of Christian on a journey from his hometown to the Celestial City. On the way he faces many challenges and obstacles. A Christian life is not easy. We face distress, disputes and decoys along the way, which have the potential to derail us. In each of the passages for today we see examples of these challenges. 1. Distress: How do we respond? Psalm 77:1-9 I have a friend who is a Dominican monk. He is one of the most deeply spiritual and holy people I know. He told me that he often begins his prayers with ‘a time of complaining’! This psalm begins with the psalmist pouring out his complaints to God. Having a relationship with God does not protect us from ‘distress’ (v.2). We are not told what problem the psalmist was facing. However, it was so bad that he was ‘awake all night – not a wink of sleep’ (v.4a, MSG). There have been times when I have wondered, ‘Has my Christian life come to an end?’ The psalmist writes, ‘Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favour again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?’ (vv.7–9) In this, the first half of Psalm 77, we begin to see how to respond to distress. You can be assured that: God listens to your cry The psalmist did not hold it in. ‘I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord’ (vv.1–2a, MSG). God likes your honesty There is a therapeutic effect in asking honest questions. Many of God’s people in the Bible bring their doubts and difficulties and distresses to God and question him. Even Jesus, on the cross, asked a question, quoting Psalm 22:1: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46). God wants us to be real with him. He does not want us to pretend that all is well. He wants to hear the cry of our hearts. This is what builds real communication and draws us close to him, even in times of great distress. Thank you, Lord, that we can cry out to you for help when we are in distress. Thank you that you want us to be honest with you and that you hear the cry of our hearts, even in the times of our greatest difficulties and distress. Thank you that you do not reject us, that your promises do not fail, that you do not forget to be merciful and you do not withhold your compassion. 2. Disputes: How do we resolve them? Acts 15:1-21 There is nothing surprising about ‘arguments’, ‘disputes’ and ‘debates’ in the church. We read here of a ‘sharp dispute and debate’ (v.2) about what was required in order to be fully accepted as a Christian – a member of the church – and to be ‘saved’ (v.1). Was circumcision a requirement? (v.1). We see here a four-step process for decision-making. This is a great model for dealing with disputes in the local, national and even global church today. 1. Call a meeting Some were insisting that everyone be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas fiercely protested. They called a special meeting to bring the two sides of the debate together. We should never be afraid of conflict. When intelligent people come together to talk about issues that matter, it is both natural and productive for disagreement to occur. In fact, that is what makes meetings interesting! 2. Consider and discuss ‘The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated’ (v.7, MSG). In the end, two factors swayed the debate. First, their reasoning was based on the experience of the Spirit. Peter’s first argument was based on what he had seen the Holy Spirit doing at Cornelius’ house. ‘God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [the Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them’ (vv.8–9). To make a distinction would have been to oppose God. This led him to the conclusion: ‘We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are’ (v.11). Second, their reasoning was based on the evidence of the Scriptures. James points out that the word of God and the Spirit of God are in alignment: ‘The words of the prophets are in agreement with this’ (v.15). He shows that the Scriptures foretold the inclusion of ‘all the Gentiles’ (v.17) and suggests a way forward consistent with following the experience of the Holy Spirit and the evidence of Scripture (vv.19–21). We can be sure that word of God and the Spirit of God will always be in agreement. What we cannot be sure of is that our understanding of either is correct. Those arguing that everyone should be circumcised did so on the basis of Scripture. Peter and James did not set aside the Scriptures, but they did argue that they had been misunderstood. 3. Come to a decision In the end, they decided (v.22). This was an extraordinary moment in the life of the early church. ‘The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them’ (v.12). It was a spine-tingling moment, which reduced them to silence. At the end of the day decisions require judgment. The apostle James says, ‘It is my judgment’ (v.19). The deciding factor was that they did not want to ‘make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God’ (v.19). All people were to be invited into the church, regardless of their background, although not all practices were allowed (v.20). The lesson here is that we need to be very careful about putting unnecessary obstacles in front of people who are exploring faith in Jesus and we need to be careful about defining the church too narrowly. 4. Communicate the decision They wrote it down (v.20). Minutes of a meeting are not just a formality. It is important to record decisions. Then, as we will see tomorrow, they need to be communicated (vv.23–29). Lord, give us wisdom as we deal with disputes within the church. Thank you that you are pouring out your Holy Spirit again on all parts of the church today. Help us to have the same attitude as you, who ‘made no distinction between us and them’ (v.9). 3. Decoys: How do we resist them? 1 Kings 9:10-11:13 Success can be more dangerous for us than failure. Solomon was highly successful. He did much right. He had a great gift of wisdom and yet, in the end, he was led astray. Solomon’s life presents us with a challenge and a warning. Solomon had everything. In twenty years, he had built two great buildings: the temple and his palace (9:10). His wisdom was renowned all over the world. The Queen of Sheba was astonished by what she saw: ‘The half was not told me. You have added wisdom and goodness exceeding the fame I heard’ (10:7, AMP). She recognises it could only be God: ‘Clearly, God’s love for Israel is behind this, making you king to keep a just order and nurture a God-pleasing people’ (v.9, MSG). Yet, the tragedy is that Solomon did not finish well. His ‘heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been … his heart had turned away from the Lord’ (11:4,9). What went wrong? It started with promiscuity: ‘King Solomon was obsessed with women ... He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines – a thousand women in all!’ (vv.1,3, MSG). It ended with following detestable gods: ‘As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods’ (1 Kings 11:4a, MSG). He ‘did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done’ (v.6). He acted contrary to the Lord’s explicit command that the king ‘must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold’ (Deuteronomy 17:17). These decoys led Solomon away from the true God. David messed up from time to time. When he did, he repented and turned back to the Lord and followed him wholeheartedly. Solomon shows us something different. Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines do not happen overnight. There must have been compromise in Solomon’s heart. In spite of all God’s blessings, Solomon tolerated sin and in the end it ruined him. The main way we will not end up like Solomon is to stay close to Jesus and listen to him. For as Jesus said, the Queen of Sheba ‘came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here’ (Matthew 12:42). Lord, thank you for this warning. Guard our hearts, Lord. Help us to guard our ways. Help us as individuals and as a church to keep following your Holy Spirit, to obey you wholeheartedly and not to turn our hearts after other gods. Help us to stay close to you. Help us to be fully devoted to the Lord, to follow you completely to the end of our lives. Pippa Adds 1 Kings 11:1–13 How come such a wise man can be so foolish over women? He was also disobedient. God had said don’t marry women from those places. But Solomon did. God said that they would lead him astray. They did.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 02:38:55 +0000
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