Emmanuel Pentecostal Church Gateshead Resources

Wednesday 8^th

John 17

This portion of Scripture is often given the title ‘The High Priestly Prayer’.

It is the longest prayer that we have recorded that Jesus made, it is almost the last prayer he made before he went to the Cross. Jesus was a man of prayer. He often went to a solitary place to pray, for example, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12.

In this prayer, we find that Jesus prays for himself, for his disciples and for those who would believe, that is you and me. This should be a great comfort to us that even before Jesus went to the cross, before we even came to believe – that Jesus prayed for us.

Today I want us to be encouraged to know that Jesus is still in a place of intercession for us. After he ascended to the Father he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high and took up his High Priestly duties! The book of Hebrews covers much of this for us and it is from here we will look at what this means for us.

Hebrews 2:17-18 ‘Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.’

Hebrews 4:14-16 – ‘Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’

Hebrews 7:23-28 ‘The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.  For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.’

Hebrews 9:28 ‘So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.’

To summarize: Our Great High Priest: Jesus,

He has been where we are – he has known temptation, he has been through suffering, therefore he knows what it is like to go through the things that we are facing, so he can intercedes for us and help us when we are tempted and tried.

He is a sympathizing Priest.

He is a merciful High Priest.

He is a faithful high Priest.

He is a sinless Priest

He is a Priest who made a once for all sacrifice for sin.

He is a Priest who offered himself for our sin.

He is an Exalted Priest.

He is a sin forgiving Priest.

He is an Eternal / Permanent Priest.

He is the Priest who has been appointed by God.

He is a welcoming Priest – we are welcome into his presence.

He is a Returning Priest – He’s coming again to take us into his eternal presence.

This is far better than going and talking through a confessional to a man who himself is a sinner, who has no power or authority to forgive sin!

We come to the Great High Priest and in coming he has the power to forgive and to grant eternal life, we come to the Priest who has been appointed by God himself, we come to the Priest who has provided a better and a new and living way. We come not to a priest but to THE Priest! His name is Jesus.

And for him to become that Great High Priest he need first to go the way of the Cross and we close this devotion with what is nearly the last prayer he uttered ‘ Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done’. (Luke 22:42)

Thank God he was an obedient Priest!

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong, a perfect plea

A great high Priest whose Name is Love

Who ever lives and pleads for me

My name is graven on His hands

My name is written on His heart

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end to all my sin

Because the sinless Savior died

My sinful soul is counted free

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb

My perfect spotless righteousness

The great unchangeable I am

The King of glory and of grace

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high

With Christ my Savior and my God

With Christ my Savior and my God

^{Dp, Chris Rice © Warner Chappell Music, Inc. CCLI 788682}

Tuesday 7^th

John 14:1-7

As we continue with our theme this week, we come to what is probably one of the most famous portions of John’s gospel. Jesus had already told the disciples that one of the close group of disciples was going to betray him, (John 13:21-30) and that Peter would deny him three times.(John 13:36-38) Jesus has told them he is about to be leaving them and this news caused them to be troubled in their hearts. But Jesus reassures them it’s not the end. ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.’ (John 14:3) I’m going, but don’t panic, I’m coming back!

We often turn to these verses for in them we find comfort in the face of death. Jesus has already gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us – so that whether we are living or dying when he returns, he is going to fetch us, or snatch us up from this earth and into his eternal presence. That is a comforting thought – especially when faced with the valley of the shadow of death. (Psalm 23:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)

These verses bring to us as already mentioned the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. John only briefly touches on it, but Matthew and Luke have reported for us much more of the dialogue that Jesus had with the disciples in this Holy Week concerning his coming again. (Matthew 24 & 25, Luke 21) In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus tells the disciples about the betrayal and denial after the second coming dialogue, so when we get to the verses in John 14 we need to read this as having taken place after the 2^nd coming dialogue and it is a gentle reminder to them of what they had heard and discussed and that they needn’t be troubled about it.

Later in John 14 Jesus continues to reassure them that he will send someone else, another comforter to be with them, the Holy Spirit, he makes a number of comforting statements through the next few chapters and then closes at the end of chapter 16 with the words ‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’

I have gone a long way around in this devotion to move from John 14:1 ‘Let not your heart be troubled’ to 16:33 ‘That in me you may have peace.’

We are living in troublesome times. Jesus warned that before he comes again that there would be so much happening that it would cause men’s hearts to fail with fear. (Luke 21:25-28 NJV) Even for those of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, like his disciples, we can if we are not careful allow the troublesome times and things we read on-line or in newspapers and hear on the television to cause fear or anxiety to come into our lives. Especially at this present time as we see statistics for the Coronavirus.

But Jesus wants to speak his peace into our troubled thoughts and anxious hearts – HE IS IN CONTROL. He has overcome the world; this means that nothing at all can happen without his knowledge and without his allowing it to happen. What is more, Jesus can make the declaration ‘that in me you may have peace’ because he is the Prince of Peace! Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah in 9:6 ‘For to us a child is born . . . HIS NAME WILL BE CALLED Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE.’

Peace that we read of in this worlds peace pacts etc are fragile and very often futile, but not so with the peace that our Saviour gives it is a firm and resolute peace, it is a peace that touches our hearts, settles our minds and brings us closer to the heart of God.

If you have anxious thoughts, if you are finding yourself in a place where worry is consuming you, come to the Prince of Peace allow him to overwhelm you with his love and peace. In Isaiah 26:3 we read, ‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.’

Allow some of these Scriptures that speak of His peace to fill your hearts and mind today.

Psalm 4:8  ‘In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.’

Psalm 29:11 ‘May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!’

Psalm 119:165 ‘Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.’

Isaiah 32:17 ‘And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.’

Isaiah 55:12 ‘For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.’

John 14:27 ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.’

Philippians 4:7 ‘And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

When my friends have failed me, and I’m standing all alone;

When my spirit is discouraged, and I feel all hope is gone,

There’s no need to be disheartened, for I have a Friend who cares.

When my faith becomes weak, I can kneel at His feet . . . and my burden He bears.

He is always there.

When He speaks peace the raging storms must die . . . hope becomes new life;

When he whispers; everything will be alright.

When he speaks peace the dark night slips away . . . like the breaking of the day;

When Jesus speaks peace.

Oftentimes I’ve wandered, even in my darkest hours,

Would His faithful ears still harken to my needs and my desires

Then I hear His voice so tender, speaking softly in my ear;

I kneel down and pray in my secret place and I know He will hear.

He is always near.

^{Unknown CCLI 788682}

MONDAY 6^th

John 13:1-20

In his gospel, John shows us that from the Monday through to the Thursday, Jesus spent much of the time teaching and instructing his disciples. He was about to leave them and wanted to leave them in good shape!

Following his arrival into Jerusalem, he entered the temple and drove out those who were selling, making this declaration, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ (Luke 19:46) This is the second time Jesus has had to do this as he also did it at the commencement of his ministry. (John 2:13-17. I wonder how many times it takes for us to learn a lesson!

Luke continues to tell us that Jesus taught among other important matters about taxation and tithing – Luke 20:25 ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ As we know we are obliged to pay our income tax, so we should realise we are also obliged in our giving to God as well, which happens through our giving financial support to our local Church. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2 ‘Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.’ With this in our minds, the facility is available to give tithes and offering through on-line banking while we are not able to gather.

One of the first things we discover in John’s account is that Jesus teaches the disciples an extremely important lesson – the lesson of humility. John 13:1-20.

Humility is a lesson we have probably all needed to learn in our lives, for the disciples it seemed to be an issue they struggled with, for Jesus had already dealt with the subject before. Remember the time when they had asked who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? (Matthew 18:1-5) Then a couple of chapters later (Matthew 20:20-28) two of the disciples mother asked Jesus if her sons could sit, one at his right hand and the other at his left hand in his kingdom, to which Jesus replied, ‘But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be the first among you must be your slave.’ And here in our text John 13, Jesus is having to teach them the lesson of humility again. If you follow Luke’s chronology of events, you will discover that even after the foot washing incident (which only appears in John) they repeat an earlier question to Jesus; ‘Who among them is the greatest? (Luke 22:24-20) The penny still hadn’t dropped!

I remember many years ago saying that I would take any job available except to be a toilet cleaner! I wasn’t so much proud, but just didn’t think I’d be willing to go quite that low! It wasn’t long afterwards when I worked in an agricultural manufacturing facility with a group of about 20-25 men. And I soon discovered that the men were not very fussy about toilet hygiene and no one had the task of ever cleaning them. I will leave you to imagine what they used to get like! Well, I decided one day that I would take the task on and so I learned to do what I said I would never do! But that wasn’t the end, it was about ten years later I needed work and as a result I took on work as a school cleaner, cleaning a primary school in the mornings and a secondary school in the evenings, and guess what, school children had worse toilet  habits than the men in the factory! And, yes, it was my job to clean the toilets! A lesson on humility was learned, and it’s a lesson we all need to learn, we should never put ourselves to be above doing anything.

Jesus was teaching the disciples the same thing by doing the lowliest of tasks himself. He took on the role of a servant, he wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciple’s feet. There are those who follow this practise today, convinced that Jesus was giving us a literal example that we should follow, and if they want to do so then let them, I have no problem with that. But I think here that Jesus was teaching us a very important lesson that not one of us should think that we are above another. It doesn’t matter what our status may be regarding class, race, career, education, position, or calling, ‘In Christ’ we are all equal, we are all on a level playing field. The pastor is no better than the last person that may have come into the Church family and got saved. We are brought together not to Lord it over one another but to serve one another. 

In Philippians 2:1-11 we are taught the same lesson, ‘Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, . . . he humbled himself . . .’

If there is something that the Coronavirus has taught us is that it is no respecter of persons, it has infected from every strata of society and from possibly nearly every nation of the world.

May we catch humility – each one of us and let it spread like wild-fire as we learn to seek to serve each other, bringing Jesus to our communities who need him more than they need anything else today.

Oh kneel me down again,

Here at Your feet

Show me how much You love humility

Oh Spirit be the star that leads me to

The humble heart of love I see in You

You are the God of the broken

The friend of the weak

You wash the feet of the weary

Embrace the ones in need

I want to be like You, Jesus

To have this heart in me

You are the God of the humble

You are the humble King

^{Brenton Brown CCLI 788682}

Sunday 5^th

This week being Passion Week our devotions will reflect on events that happened during the week, mainly taken from John’s gospel.

John 12:12-26

Today is what is known as Palm Sunday, the day that we recall the event of Jesus riding into Jerusalem.

Thirty-three or so years earlier Joseph and Mary had made the journey from their home in Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem to be recorded in the Roman Census that was to be taken. Traditionally at Christmas children sing a song ‘Little, donkey, little donkey on a dusty road, got to keep on plodding onward with your precious load.’ On this occasion the precious load being carried by this little donkey was the unborn son of God in the womb of his mother Mary, the one Isaiah had prophesied about, ‘For unto us a child born and a son given.’ (Isaiah 9:6)

When we get to John 12, the ‘precious load’ had been born and had lived as a man in the surrounding area and is now himself sat on a donkey, riding toward another city, the city of Jerusalem. In the song the children sing ‘the precious load’ was going to soon be born, but, here in John 12 thirty-three years later ‘the precious load’ was soon going to die! In that short space of time 33 years, we move from a Roman Census to a Roman Crucifixion.

Here in our chapter for today, we have a Roman Crowd. Scripture says it was a large crowd, they had branches of palm trees and were crying out ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.’

They had seen and heard what the ‘precious load’ had become. An itinerant preacher, a teacher, a healer and a miracle worker, there had never been anyone like this man before, he taught with authority, he spoke with authority, so much so that not only did demons flee when he confronted them and sickness vanish when he touched the sick, and storms become still when he spoke, but, he even claimed to be able to forgive sin! And so, they followed him, in their droves, as we know from the feeding of the 5000 men plus the women and children.

But there was a problem – a big problem, even though they had seen him and heard him they hadn’t fully understood his message and they hadn’t fully comprehended who he really was. They had seen him as a prophet (Matthew 21:11 ‘this is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth.’) but now as he rode into Jerusalem, they were proclaiming him as a king, but not in the right sense of his kingship. The crowd were tired of the Roman empire, they were tired of being held in the sway of Roman rule, they wanted their own King and to them Jesus was going to be the answer – ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ (Matthew 21:5)

To them, Jesus was going to be the one who would deliver them from Rome and establish a throne in the City of Jerusalem. And yes, he would – but not yet. If they had been more diligent when they had heard him preaching (John 2:18-22, John 3:14) and had been more diligent in reading the Scripture (Isaiah 53) they would have known that before the crown, this man riding upon a colt would first have to go the Cross.

Yes, he had come to deliver, but for now, during this week we call Passion week it was not going to be deliverance from the Roman Empire, it was going to be to deliver from something else that was more vital and urgent, something that held them (and the world) in even greater bondage than the Empire and the deliverance he would bring would be available not only to Israel, (the Jew, the people of God) but for the whole world. Jesus was about to bring deliverance from the bondage of sin and Satan and the curse of death and Hell. (John 12:27-32) As Jesus rode toward Jerusalem, the crowd had a crown of triumph in their minds, this was it, a new king in the city, a coronation, but Jesus had the Cross and a crown of thorns in his mind, a crucifixion. The Crowd were really only thinking of themselves and want they WANTED Jesus to do, but Jesus was thinking of you and me, the world and what he NEEDED to do, he was looking further ahead than that week, he was thinking ahead into eternity. Before he would become a King in the city, he would become king in the hearts of the redeemed.

‘King of my life, I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be; Lest I forget thy thorn-crowned brow, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, let I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary.’

As we go through this week, may we have a fresh understanding and appreciation of what our Saviour has accomplished for us. If you happen to be reading this and you have never committed your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I urge you to consider what Jesus has done for you. He took your place; he took my place as we will see later in the week so that we can know eternal redemption. If you have made a commitment but haven’t fully surrendered, how about this week making it your goal to surrender fully to the claims of the gospel. He gave his all for us, such love demands my soul, my life, my all.

You are the King of Glory

You are the Prince of Peace

You are the Lord of heaven and earth

You are the Son of righteousness

Angels bow down before You

They worship and adore You

For You have the words of eternal life

You are Jesus Christ the Lord

Hosanna to the Son of David

Hosanna to the King of Kings

Glory in the highest heavens

Jesus the Messiah reigns

^{Mavis Ford CCLI 788682}

SATURDAY 4th

Psalm 133 and Hebrews 10:19-25

‘Believers walk with God through consistent fellowship with other believers’

We have now come to the end of the second week since we have been unable to meet as the family of God at Emmanuel Pentecostal Church. We have sought in different ways to keep in touch through text, e-mail, phone calls and social media, to encourage one another and to be able to pray for one another. It could be summed up that we are trying to make the best out of a difficult situation. What has happened is that the blessing of fellowship by being together as gathered Church has been hindered or hampered. If this unexpected isolation has done anything for us spiritually, I trust it will have caused us to realize how important fellowship as gathered Church really is. We really do need each other! Yes, we can text, phone, email but, how much sweeter it is when we can be together. In Psalm 133 there is a blessing attached to unity and this isolation has caused us to be united because of the common cause and in isolation we have been and are being blessed as we seek to be a blessing to each other.

In Hebrews chapter 10:25 we are given an instruction which temporarily we cannot heed! ‘not neglecting to meet together.’ My prayer is that after the restrictions have ended, we will heed the command from the Hebrew writer for as he continues to say, ‘encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’

We all need encouragement, we all need fellowship, we all need spiritual support and the best place to find it is when we are together. Our seventh point is that believers walk with God through consistent fellowship with other believers. Consistent here must mean regular fellowship. I need you, you need me, we need each other – together as gathered Church whether it be for corporate worship, to gather around the Lord’s Table, to hear the preaching of the Word or to participate in corporate prayer but, even just to be together, we are family and we pray that soon and very soon the restriction will be lifted and Emmanuel Pentecostal Church will be filled again with our spiritual family, being encouraged and encouraging, being blessed and being a blessing, being in a place of unity where God will command his blessing. Wouldn’t it be wonderful that the first time the doors are open for worship the place would be full not just because we will all be eager to be there but that as a result of the Coronavirus the hearts of other men and women will have turned to the Lord God and they too will want to join with us.

Psalm 122:1 ‘I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the LORD!’ Perhaps you can forgive me for changing it slightly – ‘I was glad when they said to me, restrictions are lifted! You can go to the house of the LORD!’

Acts 2:42 ‘And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’

Romans 12:4-5 ‘For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.’ (NIV v5 ‘so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.)

‘Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.’ Dwight L. Moody

 Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship our spirit finds

Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne,

We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one

 Our comforts and our cares.

We share our mutual woes;

Our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows

The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,

It gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart,

 And hope to meet again.

From sorrow, toil, and pain,

And sin we shall be free;

And perfect love and oneness reign

Through all eternity.

^{John Fawcett CCLI 788682}

FRIDAY 3^rd

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

‘Believers walk with God through consistent worship’

The Scripture I have used comes from the time when the ark of God was placed in the tent that David had pitched for it to be kept. At the same time, he appointed some of the Levites to ‘invoke, to thank and to praise the Lord, then David appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord. (vv1-7 It is then followed with David’s song of thanksgiving. Verse 29 reads, ‘Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness.’

Worship is an essential part of our Christian life, perhaps when we think of worship today we automatically think of the times when we as God’s family come together such as on a Sunday morning and we spend time in worship, and yes this aspect of worship is very important. There is something powerful and precious when God’s people join in worship, as we sing songs of praise and worship, as we bring expressions of praise and thanksgiving. There is something about it that not only brings us into the presence of God but binds us together as a spiritual family. Today there are many different expressions of corporate worship, and lets be honest we all have our preferences – whether loud and noisy or quiet and peaceful, modern or old or somewhere in between, some like to be exuberant with dancing and jumping, others, well they prefer something a little more sedate! What matters is not so much how we express our worship but whether it comes from a genuine heart that is truly surrendered to the One whom we are coming before in worship. It needs to be real! Psalm 24:3-4 ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.’

David the psalmist expressed or at least indicates that his worship was demonstrated in many ways, he knelt, he bowed, he sang, he expressed, he talks of harp, stringed instruments, clapping, loud clashing cymbals, trumpet, flute etc.

But, the thought today is ‘consistent worship’ This could mean at least two things – consistency in that we practise worship on a regular basis such as mentioned on a Sunday morning or it can mean that our lives must consistently be an act of worship. I suggest it means both! We should meet consistently for corporate worship but, I also believe that our lives should consistently be an act of worship. In other words, I don’t wait till we meet on Sunday morning to worship, I am an act of worship every day, my life should be lived as an act of worship, daily bringing glory to God. This means that if I take this seriously – for it is a serious matter – I will make sure that every day I live in a way that is God honouring, avoiding in every possible way anything that would bring shame upon my Christian testimony and on the Name of my Lord and Saviour.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question; What is the chief end of man? The answer given is ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

In the modern world we seem to have made Man’s chief end to live for self and to enjoy all the fleeting pleasures of the world instead of to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. There is nothing wrong with so much of what we do enjoy in life, but there is certainly something wrong if these things come before God and become the priority in our lives. How much of our 24-hour day is spent glorifying God! It should be the whole 24 hours, it doesn’t mean we are continually on our knees, or continually got our eyes closed praying, not even spending the whole-time singing worship songs and it doesn’t mean we have to lock ourselves away from the rest of the world. It means ensuring that in whatever we are and in whatever we do we are glorifying God. (Ephesians 5:15-21)

In Micah6:6 the question is asked: ‘With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? The answer comes in v8, ‘He has told you, O, man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ This is a quote extracted from the content of Deuteronomy 10:12-22, where whole-hearted devotion to God is commanded and this would then be demonstrated in our attitude to the world around us. This is how we can consistently walk in worship with God.

I close this devotion with the words of Paul in Romans 12:1-2, ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’

What wonder of grace is this,

What story of passion divine,

Where judgement and mercy kiss,

Where power and love are entwined?

No tongue can speak this glory,

No words express the joy You bring

As I enter the courts of the King.

My desire is to come to this place,

My desire is to look on Your face,

Perfect in beauty, in truth and love,

Your glory shines over all the earth;

The King who lavishes grace on us is here.

Your will is my daily bread,

Enough for my plenty and need;

I’ll live by the words You’ve said,

And follow wherever You lead.

And though my flesh may fail me

You prove Your grace in all I do,

Lord my heart is devoted to You.

^{Stuart Townend Copyright © 2002 Thankyou Music  CCLI 788682}

Thursday 2^nd

Galatians 5:16-25

‘Believers walk with God by watching the work of the Spirit in their lives’

Being Pentecostal, we value and appreciate the person, work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was about to go to the cross he made a promise to the disciples that he would not leave them comfortless or alone, but that he would ask the Father to give them another Helper (Comforter KJV) to be with them forever, even the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17)

We discover in Scripture the many ministries or work of the Holy Spirit. For example, to help / comfort (John 14:16) to teach (John 14:26) to bear witness about Jesus (John 15:26) to convict (John 16:8) to guide into truth (John 16:13) to empower (Acts 1:8) to bring gifts and ministries (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

Since we have come to faith we will have seen the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives in many of these ways, but in particular I want to consider the aspect of the working of the Holy Spirit in making us more Christ-like. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification. Scripture refers to the work of sanctification which in a nutshell means to be set apart, to be made holy and as taking place in differing ways. Sanctified by the blood, by the Word (truth) and by the Holy Spirit. In 1 Peter 1:1-2 in his introduction to the epistle,  Peter talks of those receiving the letter as being elect according to the foreknowledge of God in the SANCTIFICATION of the Spirit as he goes through the letter it is among other things a call to holiness (see 1 Peter 1:13-16). In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul also refers to the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.

How do we see this sanctification taking place? We see it by responding positively to the commands in Scripture that encourage us who are ‘in Christ’ to put of the old sinful nature and to put on the new nature which is ours through new birth. For references to this we can go to Colossians 3:1-17 and to the book of Galatians. Paul talks in Galatians about our walking by the Spirit rather then gratifying the desires of the flesh (5:16). We are living in the world, but we are not meant to be living like the world! And without the daily help of the Holy Spirit we would all be struggling. If you are reading this and know that you are struggling with gratifying the desires of the flesh, then ask the Holy Spirit to help you, for as we saw earlier, Jesus said he would send the Spirit to be alongside us to help us. As we change and become more Christlike or more holy what is happening is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and it is a beautiful thing to watch.

When we lived in Hereford, we often had visits to the Church from the lads that had been through the Teen Challenge programme. It used to be exciting to hear and see the way that these lads who had been broken, addicts etc. and had been transformed by the power of God, ‘the evidence’* was there, you could see the work of the Spirit in their lives. We may not have been where they have been, but the work of the Spirit is of equal importance in our lives as well.

Notice what Paul says in Galatians 5, he lists the works of the flesh and the fact that Paul adds ‘and things like this’(v21) means this list is not an exhaustive list. But then he continues to show what a life is like that has and is still knowing the working of the Holy Spirit verses 11-23. We call this the fruit of the Spirit.

He then concludes the chapter with this, ‘and those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.’

As I have been doing these devotions based on the skeleton that Whitefield provided, I have often wondered what he would have said on each of these points. I guess if we could get hold of his sermon, although the points are the same he and I may differ in our approach or we may be similar, but, when it came to this point, I felt deeply impressed in my spirit to close with a very clear challenge. And it is this: as Believers, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives? And in the area of sanctification, are we desiring to become more Christlike and as such, denying the flesh and desirous to be led by the Spirit and displaying the fruit of the Spirit.

Right from the beginning of preparing these devotions, Psalm 1 is continually being impressed on my mind and I feel today it fits in to share. It’s an Old Testament Book and Chapter but it has significance towards our walking in the Spirit. (turn to Psalm 1)

We have choices to make, we either walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners and sit in the seat of the scornful – this would be our gratifying the desires of the flesh. OR we can choose not to do these things but to delight ourselves in the law of the Lord and this would include the ways of the Lord, this would be denying the flesh and choosing to keep in step with the Spirit. Two choices, two outcomes. ‘For the Lord knows the way of the righteous (those who are saved, holy and sanctified, walking by the Spirit) but the way of the wicked (those who choose to live according to the flesh, the old nature) will perish. (v6)

May God help us to live and to walk by the Spirit so that as we see our own lives and watch each other in our Church family we will watch and see the work of the Holy Spirit.

* ‘The Evidence’ is the name of the Teen Challenge team who travel to share their story.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, alone,

Can turn our hearts from sin;

His power alone can sanctify

And keep us pure within.

O Spirit of faith and love!

Come in our midst, we pray,

And purify each waiting heart;

Baptise us with power today!

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, alone

Can deeper love inspire;

His power alone within our souls

Can light the sacred fire.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, can bring

The gifts we seek in prayer;

His voice can words of comfort speak,

And still each wave of care.

Thy Holy Spirit, Lord, can give

The grace we need this hour;

And while we wait, O Spirit, come

In sanctifying power.

^{Fanny Crosby CCLI 788682}

WEDNESDAY 1^st

Read Psalm 139

‘Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.’

The thought we are exploring today, ‘The believer walks with God by observing his providential work in the circumstances of their lives.’

Being a child of God has many benefits and one of them is the assurance that we know as Paul puts it in Romans 8:28 that ‘we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.’ God is in control of our circumstances. This means that as we go through each day, and as each week passes into each month and then each month into each year, whatever happens, whatever circumstance we have gone through and will yet go through God knew about before it happened because even before we were born he had a volume or book with our days already set out.

God is never caught out unaware therefore we can rest in the knowledge that whatever comes our way, GOD IS IN CONTROL. His providential work is being outworked in the circumstances of our lives. This is the case whether we consider our circumstances to be good and pleasant or if we consider them to be hard and trying – God is in control.

In Genesis 50:20 Joseph makes a very telling statement, remember some of his circumstances, hated by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold as a slave into Egypt, accused wrongly of trying to seduce the Pharaoh’s wife, thrown into prison – not a happy set of circumstance but this is what he said, ‘As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.’ God was in control, God was bringing about his plan and purpose not only for Joseph, but for his family and ultimately the Children of Israel which in turn led on to God’s future plan of eternal redemption for all who come to him by faith.

Job, who we know suffered immensely, was able to say at the end of his time of trial, (Job 42:20) ‘I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’  

I remember some of the older songs we used to sing that used to really boost my confidence and trust as a young believer in the fact that God is in control which in turn enabled me to see his hand in every situation.

One of them was, ‘I worship thee sweet will of God’, and one of the verses says,

Ill that He blesses is our good,

And unbless’d good is ill;

And all is right that seems most wrong,

If it be His sweet will

Another was ‘God holds the key of all unknown’ and I will use this as the hymn to end the devotion, but sufficient here to say that ‘God knows’ therefore we trust him.

I have often used an illustration regarding a piece of tapestry, on the back side it looks like a mess of knots, colours and pieces of cotton or wool but on the other side a beautiful piece of work. At the moment in life we are seeing the bits and pieces, but God sees the completed picture.

So at the end of this devotion, may we learn to trust, not only when we are on the mountain top, but also when we feel we are in a valley, when our human nature cannot see clearly our souls will rise to see that God is in control, and we will recognise if not immediately but later as we look back we will see God’s providential work in the circumstances of our lives.

There is so much more I could share but remember the true and living God whom we have come to know and to love also knows you and loves you and he is the All powerful God, the all knowing God and the God who is ever present and he knows no change.

Romans 8:31-39 ‘What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

God holds the key of all unknown,

And I am glad;

If other hands should hold the key,

Or if He trusted it to me,

I might be sad, I might be sad.

What if tomorrow’s cares were here

Without its rest!

I’d rather He unlocked the day;

And, as the hours swing open, say,

My will is best, My will is best.

The very dimness of my sight

Makes me secure;

For, groping in my misty way,

I feel His hand; I hear Him say,

My help is sure, My help is sure.

I cannot read His future plans;

But this I know;

I have the smiling of His face,

And all the refuge of His grace,

While here below, while here below.

Enough! this covers all my wants,

And so I rest!

For what I cannot, He can see,

And in His care I saved shall be,

Forever blest, forever blest.

^{John Parker CCLI 788682}

TUESDAY 31^st

The third point for this week’s theme is, ‘believers walk with God by meditation on the Word of God.’

On Sunday we considered the importance of reading God’s Word, todays point develops the thought a little further and that is upon reading the Word, the believer needs to spend time meditating upon it.

What is meditation? It means to muse, mull over something and with Biblical meditation it means to mutter.

Some forms of meditation can be extremely dangerous as it requires one to empty one’s mind of every thought and this leaves the mind open for the devil to fill. Biblical meditation has nothing to do with emptying the mind, but of reading the Word of God and filling your mind with Scripture and then spending time mulling it over, even muttering or repeating in such a way to enable us to remember it.

When it comes to Bible meditation, it is more than a mind exercise for it is linked to the heart as well as we see in Psalm 19:14 ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.’ The godly person should make meditation a daily practise. Psalm 1:2 ‘. . . but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.’ Psalm 119:97 ‘Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.’ In fact, when we go back in time to Joshua, when he was called to succeed Moses in leading the Children of Israel into the promise land, God gave him a promise that he would be with him, and that he (Joshua) was to be strong and courageous and that he was to be careful to keep all that the law commanded and that he should MEDITATE upon it day and night, so he may be careful to do according to all that was written in it. (Joshua 1:5-9)

Meditation should be part and parcel of our walk with God, for as we saw in Sundays devotion, reading the Word is essential to our spiritual well-being for it is our spiritual guide book, showing who we are in Christ and how we should be living as citizens of a heavenly kingdom. Often when we read something, we can forget in the next minute what we have just read, and the devil would love this to happen to us when we read God’s Word. Learning to meditate helps us to be able to memorize it and it is amazing how often Scripture memorised will come back to us when we need it. So, the best way of reading the Word is to not just read but to absorb or remember it as well so that we can recall it, and this requires healthy Biblical meditation.

It is during times like what we are going through today, when we cannot meet together that we can truly value the practise of Biblical meditation, for as we have time to spend in isolation, the Word meditated and memorised will keep coming to the forefront of our minds reminding us that God is in control, he knows the way we take, he know the end from the beginning. The Word we have loved and continue to love gives us continual hope.

You may have noticed I didn’t put a Scripture to read at the beginning, instead I want to place one here at the end. Take time to read it and to meditate upon it – remember God is in control. The Scripture is Matthew 6:25-34

Why should I be discouraged and why should the shadows fall?

Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?

When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He,

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

I sing because I’m happy;

I sing because I’m free;

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches me.

Let not your heart be troubled; these tender words I hear;

And resting on his goodness I lose my doubts and fears;

For by the path He leadeth but one step I may see;

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Whenever I am tempted; whenever clouds arise;

When songs give place to sighing; when hope within me dies;

I draw the closer to Him; from care He sets me free;

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

^{Lynda Randle CCLI 788682}

MONDAY  30^th

Matthew 6:6-18.

We continue the theme today of the believers walk with God and the second point, drawing from Whitefield is: ‘Believers walk with God by secret prayer.’

I know that we are aware of the importance of prayer. This includes corporate prayer when we come together as God’s family, and I trust we are missing that hour on a Monday evening when we gather together for prayer, but, there is also the important need for secret prayer, that is our personal prayer life.

Jesus expected that believers would pray for in Luke 11:1 Jesus used the words ‘WHEN you pray’ not ‘IF you pray.’ In another passage of Scripture Jesus talks about the secret place of prayer, Matthew 6:5-6 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.’

When we pray together it joins us in unity of prayer and strengthens us as a body of people. When we pray in secret prayer, in our private prayer and devotion it strengthens us as individuals. It helps us to develop our personal walk with God and our personal intimacy with him.

In Matthew 6 and Luke 11 Jesus inviting us to the place of prayer allows us to call God our Father. ‘Pray then like this; ‘Our Father in heaven . . .’ (Matthew 6) or ‘When you pray say, ‘Father hallowed be your name.’’ (Luke 11)

Those of us who are fathers know that there are times when we speak with our children collectively but there are other times when we have a ‘one on one’ conversation with just one of the children, these moments are more intimate, and Our Heavenly Father loves it when we are together as his children talking with him, but he also loves those moments and so should we when we have what we would call ‘a one on one’ conversation with him.

Individual prayer is just as powerful as corporate prayer. We should never think that God is only going to listen or act when there are ‘two or three’ gathered in His name! He is as present with us in the secret place as he is when we are together.

There are many ways in which secret prayer can happen, it can be in the quietness of our study or bedroom or any other space we might set aside in the home, it may be a place where we can go to away from every other distraction, it may even be while we are walking, what matters is that we make time to develop our personal times of prayer with God. Talking to him as a friend would a friend, finding those moments to pour out those things that may be weighing us down, to speak with him about our concerns, longings or desires, interceding for others, standing in the gap for those who may be too weak to pray themselves and of course not forgetting to pray for the needs of family and friends. But walking with God in prayer is not about us doing all the talking – prayer is a two way conversation and we need to make time in our secret prayer to listen to God, hear what he wants to say, listen to those things that he also wants to share into our lives personally. Psalm 46:10 says ’Be still, and know that I am God’ we need to learn to ‘be still’ in our prayer life, again in Isaiah we are encouraged ‘to wait’ for the Lord and as we do, we will have our strength renewed, we shall mount up with wings and we will run and not be weary, walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Again it is so easy for what is meant to be a daily devotion to become a sermon as each of these points are worth exploring further, but I trust that what I have shared is suffice to encourage us in our prayer lives and maybe as a result we may grow deeper in our walk and relationship with God.

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,

uttered or unexpressed;

the motion of a hidden fire

that trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech

that infant lips can try,

prayer the sublimest strains that reach

the Majesty on high.

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,

the Christian’s native air,

his watchword at the gates of death:

he enters heaven with prayer.

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice,

returning from his ways;

while angels in their songs rejoice,

and cry, ‘Behold, he prays!

The saints in prayer appear as one,

in word and deed and mind;

while with the Father and the Son

sweet fellowship they find.

Nor prayer is made on earth alone:

the Holy Spirit pleads,

and Jesus on the eternal throne

for sinners intercedes.

O Thou by whom we come to God,

the Life, the Truth, the Way,

the path of prayer thyself hast trod:

Lord, teach us how to pray!

^{Jas Montgomery CCLI 788682}