DAILY AND IN EVERY HOUSE

DAILY AND IN EVERY HOUSE!

Reading: Acts Chapter 5

Acts 5:42

42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

           In a time of great persecution, the church still managed to worship God every day! Now, doubtless, these folks had families, jobs, and other events that demanded their attention but the word “daily” leaps from the page! In our calm Christian culture we can barely manage weekly worship – or is it weakly?

           Were there days with perfect weather for fishing or golf? Did the Greeks not obsess over sporting events? Were there no political rallies over which to fret? No, I suspect the Greco-Roman world had enough opportunities to avoid Christian worship.

           Adam Clarke sums it up for us in his commentary on this verse. “[Daily in the temple] That is at the hours of morning and evening prayer; for they felt it their duty to worship God in public, and to help others to make a profitable use of the practice. Every man that professes Christianity should, in this respect also, copy their conduct: nor can any man be considered to have any religion, let his sentiments be what they may, who does not attend on the public worship of his Maker.”

Eph 5:15-16

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

I AM HOLY

I AM HOLY!

Ps 86:1-7

Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6 Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

          Perhaps today’s title is offensive to you because you feel that holiness is something for which to strive and not something to be attained. We bristle at the boldness with which David declares himself to be holy and then makes it the ground of his plea but we need to be better informed.

          The phrase “for I am holy” literally means “for I am one whom you favor.” Ah! Now it makes better sense to our senses. Now the offensive boasting flees away and becomes a statement of faith and a song of praise. Yes! Now things are in proper order. David had devoted himself to God, had found favor with God by grace and it was on this basis that he makes his appeal. A child looks to a parent for protection, because he is a child; a citizen looks to the protection of the laws, because he is a citizen; and so the people of God may look to him for protection, because they are his people.

Ps 79:13

13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

Dear Lord, we graze in Thy rich pasture because we are Thy sheep. You have bought us and we are your own. Be merciful unto us.  AMEN

WHATEVER HE SAYS DO IT

WHATEVER HE SAYS – DO IT!

John 2:1-5

2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

           Whether she was in charge is not clear but Mary felt somehow responsible for the refreshments at this wedding reception. She misdiagnosed the thirst of this crowd and ran out of wine. Jesus offers a mild rebuke explaining that she was treading in a region from which all creatures were excluded. Yet he responded to her statement to the wine stewards: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” It was a statement of submission and an acknowledgment of his position.

           The statement itself is what grasps our attention this morning. Whatever – no matter what – he says to you, simply obey! Whatever He says will be right. Now the voice of Jesus is an inner voice. It is the voice of His Holy Spirit and it speaks to our heart and our imagination and not our ears. The spiritual voice of Jesus can be recognized by three signs.

1. He is decisive and imperative!

           Jesus does not ask for a consensus opinion as to what should be done. He knows what he will do. He commands that the water pots be filled with water. I rather like the response because it says they filled the pots “up to the brim.” This is the way Jesus wants us to interpret His commands.

2. It is never unreasonable nor impossible!

           Jesus commanded them to do something that was physically possible. It could be done Fill the pots with water. Now draw out the contents and take it to the governor of the feast. Can you imagine the concern of the servants who were about to carry only water where there should be wine? But they obeyed anyway

3. It calls for a sacrifice of our own will and ways!

           While the voice of Jesus is never unreasonable it often, if not always, challenges our own will and wisdom. We will be required to surrender. It will often, if not always, cost us something valuable to us. Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

Luke 5:5-6

5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

Dear Lord, help us to hear your voice clearly and obey promptly. AMEN

GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART

GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART!

1 Sam 16:6-12

6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.

7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

           When the sons of Jesse passed in parade there were some pretty boys in the company. Eliab, the eldest was probably presented not only first but privately, ahead of the others. He must have been quite a specimen because Samuel concluded he must be the very chosen of God. But God doesn’t see as men.

           Dr. Mark Wessel observes this about God’s choices for His twelve apostles: “It was a strange group of men our Lord chose to be his disciples. Four of them were fishermen, one a hated tax collector, another a member of a radical and violent political party … all were laymen … Yet it was with these men that Jesus … disseminated his good news to the end of the earth.” (The Expositors Bible Commentary, volume 8, page 643)

Tradition says that Paul was a short man with an oozing eye disease. Paul comments on his own appearance in the following verse in which the word tapeinos is rendered base and signifies lowly or short of stature.

2 Cor 10:1

10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

           Little, red faced, David was the last son that Jesse considered to be of kingly quality but God did not look on his outward appearance. His heart was ready for a crown!

Dear Lord, I am neither tall nor handsome by most appraisals. Let me instead have a courageous heart and a beautiful spirit. Let me be pleasing in your sight. AMEN

ACT ON YOUR FAITH

ACT ON YOUR FAITH!

Heb 11:7

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

James 2:26

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Noah's faith involved the whole person: his mind was warned of God; his heart was moved with fear, and his will acted on what God told him. But what if Noah had simply lived out the remainder of his life in worry and fear? What if he had not done the unthinkable by building an ark? Well, his faith would very literally be dead.

My daughter said something interesting to me the other day. She said she felt a bit like Noah in that she felt God was about to do something in the lives of her family. She felt she needed to make some personal life changes but did not know exactly why. I think that is God preparing her for change. Her plans are to act on her faith and to be ready.

So often it isn’t our faith that is weak but our response to it. Do you sense God moving in your life? Do you feel that preparations need to b made so that you can be ready when God gives the order to march? If so, maybe you need to begin gathering lumber, nails, and animals two by two.

Dear Lord, lead me by your Spirit and then give me the grace to act on that leading. AMEN