Psalms for today - Psalm 8 - People

Psalm 8
For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

1 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Comments from McGurgle:

One human being could not create a giant pyramid in Egypt alone. God created the heavens with a word. The psalmist is very aware of the insignificance of human beings when compared to God, like an ant compared o a person. Yet God cares for each of us, and Jesus said that God even cares for the birds of the air. Imagine the difference between an ant and a person. Imagine a person caring for just one ant moment-by-moment, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Now, remember that God, Who is far greater than the people he created, is caring for us as individual persons moment by moment, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. God is that loving and magnificent.We are insignificant in our own eyes when we compare ourselves to our sovereign God, the King of the universe. Yet, God did not make any person insignificant. Each person has value and worth because they are created in the image of God – only a little lower than God himself. We have many, if not most, of God’s attributes in finite miniature. Whereas our existence depends on God, God is so great that God’s existence does not depend on anything or anyone. Now, remember that this God has crowned people with glory and honor. We need to live humbly, yet in a way deserving the glory and honor that God has crowned us with.

What difference does it make to remember that God has created human beings different in kind to animals? What are some of the consequences when people do not view others as having been created in the image of God? How can disbelieving in, or not teaching the true value of human beings as are created in the image of God, lead to the dehumanising and demonising of other people? How might we as disciples teach others the true value of all human life? How might this change society?

Psalms For Today - Psalm 7 "Integrity"

Psalm 7
 A shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning Cush, a Benjamite

1 LORD my God, I take refuge in you;
save and deliver me from all who pursue me,
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

3 LORD my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me;
let him trample my life to the ground
and make me sleep in the dust.[c]

6 Arise, LORD, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.
Awake, my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.
8 Let the LORD judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity, O Most High.
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
who probes minds and hearts.

10 My shield[d] is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every day.
12 If he does not relent,
he[e] will sharpen his sword;
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.

14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness;
I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.

Comments from McGurgle:
Here, David is asking God to judge him according to his righteousness and his integrity. Ask yourself this question, if you were standing before God today, and you asked God to judge you according to your righteousness and your integrity, how would you do? Would God be proud of you, would you be proud of yourself, or would you be ashamed, you might think that you have a great deal of work left to build your integrity?

The definition of integrity – in the Hebrew, means completeness, moral innocence, or perfection. The exact opposite of compromise. For disciples integrity is important. It defines to others who you are. When someone thinks of you, inevitably, they will think about whether or not you have integrity. People want to know if you’re "for real". Integrity determines how you will react in certain situations. When you are faced with circumstances where you have choice to either do right or do wrong, your integrity, or lack of it, will determine what you do. Integrity demonstrates your spiritual condition. If you have no integrity, then you have a spiritual problem, because God wants us to have integrity. If you lack integrity, it can damage your testimony. If someone knows that you have no integrity, they will certainly not listen to you when you share the Gospel with them. So, Imagine your standing before God and have an honest look, Is integrity in your heart and life or is it lacking?

Sean Stillman - The Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

What a great reflection from Sean. 

Here is the scripture passage associated with this parable

Luke 10:25-37

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Psalms for today - Psalm 6- How are you living/

Psalm 6

For the director of music.
With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.
A psalm of David.

1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint;
heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, LORD, how long?

4 Turn, LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Comments from McGurgle:

David begins this psalm by rehearsing the sad condition in which he found himself. The word's are faint, agony and anguish. These are strong word's and heartfelt. We don’t know the cause of David’s pain but whatever the cause, he sought God for the remedy. He knew that the problem could only be remedied by God Himself.  Here was “a man after God’s own heart” who had not only fallen but who persisted in pretending publicly that nothing was wrong. Any Spiritual man who is out of touch with God, because of unconfessed sin, knows what it is like when prayer becomes a mere mouthing of words. There can be little doubt from the first few verses of this psalm that David is suffering from the way he has been living. David’s sin with Bathsheba was a terrible thing. She was the wife of one of his great military men who had stood faithfully on David’s behalf. David seduced her and arranged with Joab for Uriah’s murder. Then David married Bathsheba to try to cover up the whole thing.

David’s agony is expressed in several ways in this psalm:

Through a gnawing of conscience (vv. 1-5) (spiritually).
Through physical problems (vv. 6-7) (physically).
Through embarrassment of moral failure (vv. 8-10) (morally)

He pleads with God for mercy in many a sleepless night as he fills his bed with tears which Spurgeon referred to as “liquid prayers.” It had become increasingly clear to David that he wasn’t fooling anyone as he was “waxing old in his grief” and his sorrow was evident on his face. He did not want to be like this any more. This feeling and anguish of David is called conviction and for the child of God it is a gift from God, without the deep feeling of bankruptcy and brokenness there can be no true repentance and restoration.

Application
I need to ask myself if I am carrying the weight of any past sins that needs to be confessed to God? I need to ask if i have been suffering because of the way i have been living. I need to take a look at my life and confess my wrong doings, confess any evil way, motive, feeling or action. This is why the Lord has put I John 1:9 in the Bible. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." As a child of God I need to claim this truth and see my life transformed by it. How are you living?

McGurgle

Psalms for today - Psalm 5

Psalm 5

For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.

1 Listen to my words, LORD,
consider my lament.
2 Hear my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
5 The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
6 you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, LORD, detest.
7 But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make your way straight before me.
9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongues they tell lies.
10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;
 you surround them with your favour as with a shield.

Comments from McGurgle:

This passionate Psalm reflects the psalmist's confidence in God to deliver him from his current circumstances. It seems clear from the psalm that people are making up and communicating  false stories about him, stories that injure his reputation. He bases his hope for God to free him on the character of God as well as the desires of his own heart. Yet he knows that freedom and deliverance isn't automatic. He knows he has to "bring his case" before God earnestly and consistently (v.3).

These short comments will outline some of the flow of the passage, from the Psalmist's urgent plea, to his statement of the character of God, to his longing to be led by God.

1. Sighs and Groans in the Morning (vv. 1-3)
Sighs, groanings and words are the Psalmist's approach to God. Sometimes our approach to God is in words, carefully chosen. Sometimes we just pour out our prayers in a rush of unorganized and jumbled words. Othertimes, the sounds we utter to God are like sighs too deep for words. What is striking about the language of the Psalmist's cry is the way he speaks with passion and conviction using all the resources he can muster, Sighs, Groans, and Words. He knows that he has no real and ultimate help apart from God. For that is reason he approaches God with mouth and heart open. The King James, translates verse 3: "in the morning I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch." The NASV has, "in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." The RSV translates: "in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch." We can see that the psalmist is careful and planned in his prayer, he sets out his case before God in the morning before anything else happens in his day. The psalmist pours our his complaint in heartfelt words, arranged with care as if in a courtroom. This is a good model of praying against our tendency just to "speak first and think later." Make your case before God. Make it very very well. Because of this we can see how much the psalmist is in relationship with God and that he wants to explain to God what is going on, this is not because he believes that god doesn't know about it, but he needs to get it all off his chest. This is robust confession.

2. God and Evil (vv. 4-6)
Over and over again in the next three verses we hear the psalmist affirming something central about God--that God can't abide evildoers.  "You hate all evildoers" (v. 5) This communicates God's heart in pretty strong language, maybe those are the words we need to hear occasionally so that we don't flag in our commitment to see justice done in the world. Evildoers, those who "delight in wickedness," the "bloodthirsty and deceitful," are really not those to whom we should give free rein to rule, to lead, to set the policy for a nation or a people. It is this belief which gives the psalmist confidence as he approaches God. Perhaps he believes in the purity of his own heart; It's hard to tell. We do know, however, that he has been sorely oppressed by people who want to destroy him with their words.

3.A desire to be led (vv. 7-8)
The psalmist doesn't stop with the prayer against the enemies; he finishes with a twofold declaration. He will enter God's house to pray (v. 7) and he will ask for God to lead him in the ways of the divine righteousness (v. 8). This is such a simple prayer, but it is also gets to the heart of the matter. We simply need guidance. We need to be led on the right way. Sometimes we tend to make our lives more complex than they need to be. For the psalmist it is simple. Just Go to the temple of God; seek for God's deliverance and guidance in the moment of need. 

Reflection:

This psalm provides encouragement and help for us today, If you wonder how to pray when evil is growing, Pray Psalm 5. If you wonder how to pray when you feel under attack, Pray Psalm 5. When political structures seem to contribute to wickedness, Pray Psalm 5. When you need a shield from the angry darts of the evil one, Pray Psalm 5. If you need to build your faith. Pray Psalm 5. If you lack confidence, Pray Psalm 5.

McGurgle

Psalms For Today - Psalm 4 - The Spiritual Present

Psalm 4

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

1 Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods[b]?[c]
3 Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.

4 Tremble and[d] do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the LORD.

6 Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.

8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

Comments from McGurgle
Almost everyone can point to a time in life when they were deeply happy. For some, it was when they first met their life partner and then marriage. For many these were those times of joy. For others, school or university days stand out. Some even point to the birth of children. For others it's an event or a time when they gave something to someone else who was in dire need. For others still it was simply in the welcome and hospitality of friends.

Then, there are times that are unpleasant and hurt even now to think about them.. Some times we have had to face a tragic time or season in life that brings us low. The loss of a loved one for example, or a severe family illness where the burdens of daily life become overwhelming. For others still the unpleasant times are the times when we become acutely aware of the experiences of our youth, and also remember the pain of it as well. The bullying at school, the way a father or mother treated them. The shunning of friends and so on.

Why are some times better than others? Why do some people yearn for the “good old days” or look forward to the “green pastures” that lie ahead? Isn’t today enough? These are the kind of questions that Psalm 4 poses. Psalm 4 is a prayer of supplication that could be divided into three sections: 1) The call for God’s answer (4:1) from the criticism of enemies (4:2), The reminder of God’s power and the need for faith in the Lord (4:3-5), The prayer for better times (4:5) with the thought that the present can give more joy than any imagined future (4:5-8).

We can see from the psalm that night time sleep marks the test of happiness in the now. 4:5 has the challenge to cease sinning and to reflect in silence on your bed. 4:8 It is an act of faith that the faithful person could lie down and sleep in the peace only the Lord could provide. Sleep was a time of restoration and rest; dreams were also a means for God to reveal his will. For the ancient Jew (and many modern believers), the quantity and quality of sleep implied a test for a clear conscience and a place close to the Lord.

There is certainly not anything wrong with fondly remembering the past or planning for the future. But, should we look behind or ahead for some sense of spiritual fulfillment? If we do, we will only play a game of “what was?” or “what could be?” and not “what is.” If nothing else, Psalm 4 plants us in the spiritual present. In the word's of Mick Jagger "You can't always get want you want, but....you might just get what you need" We might not have everything we want, but God gives us all we need for now and that is more than enough.

Take time to consider how God provides for you at this moment. Despite your desires for better times, thank him for his faithfulness and his providence in "the present moment" and be content with God's place for you in the now.

McGurgle

Psalms for today - Psalm 3 "The Morning Song"

Psalm 3

A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.

1 LORD, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”

3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.

5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.

7 Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.

McGurgle Comments:

David was king of Israel 1000 years before Jesus came to the earth. Absalom was a son of David. Absalom was envious of David and wanted to become king so he attacked David. A Father being attacked by a son, It shook David to the core. It was not something David had bargained for. David full of fear and shock escaped to a safe place. Absalom full of pride and arrogance said, "Now I am king of Israel". 

But David asked God for help. David became king again. Absalom died. The story  of what happened can be found in the Second Book of Samuel, chapters 15 - 19. Why not read it?

David wrote Psalm 3 not long after he ran away. He wrote it in anguish one morning. In it, David thanks the LORD for a safe night. Therefore Psalm 3 is called a "Morning Song". It is no small thing to say that perhaps this psalm encourages us firstly to thank God every morning for keeping us safe in the night. 

The meaning of Psalm 3 "The Morning Song"

David Sees Trouble

In Verses 1 – 2: David Sees Trouble. David calls God by the name LORD. David is a friend of God, so he uses a special name, LORD, with 4 capital letters. In Hebrew it is translated YAHWEH. Absalom and his men call God ELOHIM which we translate God. They do not use the special name. There is something wonderful here about the relationship that David has with God. YAHWEH is used by David in an intimate way. Every day more people followed Absalom. Absalom and his people said, "God will not save David". David was afraid  but also trusted in God so he prayed for help. 

David Looks to the Lord

Verses 3 – 4:  David Looks to the Lord. Verse 3 tells us that David prayed. He asked the LORD to be a shield over him. David wanted the LORD to hide him from Absalom and from any trouble that he would bring to him. David wanted to see the glory of God again. The glory of God is like a light inside God. It is linked with the very nature and character of God. It is his essence. It shines brighter than the sun! God has this glory because he is holy. David prayed this aloud and the LORD answered him. Thanks be to God for answered prayers and for his presence in the place of evil and despair. The holy mountain is Mount Zion, where the Jews thought that God lived. For us God lives in the heart so everywhere we go the glory of God can be found and experienced. Some Commentators believe "Lifted up my head" to mean "made me into a king". I on the other hand believe it's David's way of saying "You are the one who encourages me" the lifting of the head that is bowed so low in despair.

The Lord answers David.

Verses 5 – 8: The Lord answers David. The LORD answered David when he prayed. The LORD answered by doing something, not just words but God's action on David's behalf. He did not say anything. The LORD had already hit the enemies of David in the teeth. This is what you would do to a wild animal. It happened when David became king. David wants it to happen again. He also wants good things to happen to all the people of the LORD which Includes us too. 

Something easy you can  do.

1. Learn Psalm 3: 5 by heart. Say it every morning. ("By heart" means that you can repeat the words without looking at them.) 

2. When trouble happens: 

· tell Jesus about it 

· look away from the trouble to Jesus 

· wait for the answer 

McGurgle

Psalms for Today - Psalm 2

Psalm 2 

1 Why do the nations conspire[a]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the LORD’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron[b];
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

McGurgle's Comments:

In this psalm the psalmist reflects on the wicked nations who were plotting to overthrow God’s anointed, and perhaps their desires for ultimately opposing the Almighty Himself. But in the psalm the psalmist suggests that God's response is to sit in the heavens, calm and unthreatened. Also the psalmist reflects that people's boldest efforts to oppose such awesome power is ludicrous and indeed laughable. The psalmist proclaims that the Almighty doesn't even rise from His throne; He just laughs in derision.

As we reflect on this psalm we could ask the question , Is this a heartless or cruel laughter? the answer is No! God's same infinite greatness that mocks people's defiance also marks His sympathy for people trapped in a lost condition. He’s the same God who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). And He was the incarnate Saviour who wept over Jerusalem when His own people rejected Him (Matthew 23:37-39). He is great in judgment but also in compassion (Exodus 34:6-7).

God’s laughter gives us the assurance that his son Jesus Christ ultimately triumphs over evil. Any defiance of Him and His will is utterly futile. Instead of standing against Jesus, we should submit , find real hope comfort and strength and take refuge in Him and of course lead others to to find the same.

Psalms for today - Psalm 1

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Mcgurgle's Comments: 

Verse 2

The person who will be blessed delights in “the law of the Lord.” In the Old Testament, the word “law” is used in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is used in a more narrow sense to describe the laws for human conduct given in the first five books of the Bible, which are also called “the Law.” But at other times the word “law” is used more generally for God’s word. God’s word is a “law” because it provides the standards for our conduct and the guide for our lives. Calling God’s word “law” gives recognition to its authority in our lives and affirms our obligation to submit ourselves to God. The blessed person does not need to force themselves to read the Bible, because they delight in it. It is a joy for them to read it and they naturally find themselves thinking about it often. The second part of verse 2 is almost a result of the first half of the verse. They meditate on it day and night because they delight in God’s law. Of course there is a need for a certain amount of discipline in the Christian life, but discipline alone is not enough. Our attitude toward God’s word is crucial.

THEOLOGY - Reflecting on the Holy Spirit

Reflecting on the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus
Reflections on John Owen’s “Works of John Owen by Goold Vol III & IV”

INTRODUCTION

It is worth telling ourselves that no writer has produced a treatise on the Holy Spirit with as much detail and skill as John Owen has. We normally know John Owen for his ‘Death of Death in the Death of Christ’ and on his works on the power and conquest of indwelling sin. We do not hear too much of Owens masterpiece on the Spirit. In volume III and Volume IV of Goold’s edition of his ‘Works’ we find a special contribution to the theology of the Christian church and an area of thought about the Holy Spirit that frequently is overlooked in our thinking and teaching.

(1) Reasons for John Owen’s Focus on the Holy Spirit.
There are three reasons for John Owen to focus on the Holy Spirit.

1. Historical. Born in 1616, Owen died in 1683. He was 58 when his multi-volumed Pneumatologia began to appear. He could look back over the 150 years since the reformation, he could assess the planting, budding, and flowering of reformed theology, and it’s application to the life of society in seventeenth century Puritanism. He realized that central to the reformation’s re-discovery of the gospel had been the place, person, power of the Holy Spirit. Owen could say that reformed theology was different for it took salvation out of the hands of the church and placed it back into the hands of God where it belonged. In recognizing this he also could see that no comprehensive treatment of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit had been attempted.

‘I know not any who ever went before me in this design of representing the whole economy of the holy Spirit, with all his adjuncts, operations, and effects.’ [Works, III, 7]

2. Polemical. In Owen’s day, as in ours there existed a special need to expound accurately and biblically, the ministry of the Holy Spirit. John Owen did just that. Part of the value of his work for us today is in that he had to fight for this accuracy on two fronts. (i) He faced unbiblical rationalism, which gave little or no place for the Spirit. (ii) He also came up against an unbiblical spiritism that stressed the presence of the spirit’s work and of individual divine revelation, and played down the significance of the scriptures. Exalting the    so-called ‘Christ within’ above the Christ of the scriptures. Owen recognized that this had the potential to de-value the word of God.

‘He that would utterly separate the Spirit from the word had as good burn his Bible’ [Works III 192]

3. Personal. Owen was born into a Christian home. A home that was of puritan persuasion. In ‘Works’ XIII 224, Owen admits that his father was ‘a Non-conformist all his days, and a painful labourer [one who ‘took pains’ in his work] in the vineyard of the Lord’ The atmosphere in that home was godly and he was immersed in spiritual experience. But Owen could tell you that there is a great difference in knowing the knowledge of the truth, and knowing the power of the knowledge of the truth. Spiritual things can only be known by the power of the Spirit. John Owen like many worthy theologians before him had to receive and experience the power of the Holy Spirit himself. It could be said of him that he was not only a widely read theologian, but also a believer who had experienced and tasted the power of the Spirit for himself.

Owen’s work on the Holy Spirit is spread throughout his many writings, but is concentrated in volumes III &IV of his ‘Works’ Here he draws attention to a masterly theme, one that is so important ‘The ministry of the Spirit in the life and Ministry of Christ.’

(2) The Incarnation of Christ and the Ministry of the Spirit.

The incarnation is a Trinitarian event. The Father the Son and the Spirit are active. The father prepared a body for his son [Heb 10:5]; the son took hold of the seed of Abraham [Heb 2:14] but, Owen adds, none of these actions could take place apart from the ministry of the Spirit. Two questions arise when we take account the ministry of the Spirit in the Incarnation. Firstly, how did Jesus become fully one with us? And, how did Jesus fully become one with us and, yet remain free from sin?

(i) Jesus was conceived by the power of the Spirit. The conception of Jesus in the womb has all the marks of the Spirit’s operations. The Spirit overshadows the waters in Genesis 1. He overshadows the church at Pentecost in Acts 2. So he comes to Mary. Owen says ‘The framing, forming and miraculous conception of the body of Christ in the womb of the blessed virgin was the peculiar and especial work of the Holy Ghost’ (Matthew 1:18, Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:35.) The person working here is the Holy Spirit. In Owen’s words he is the ‘wonderful operator in this glorious work’

(ii) Jesus was sanctified by the Power of the Spirit. When speaking of the conception Owen states that ‘the human nature of Christ being thus formed in the womb by a creating act of the Holy spirit was in the instant of it’s conception sanctified [Heb 7:26] [Luke 1:35] and filled with grace according to the measure of it’s receptivity’. At the point of conception, according to Owen, Christ was sinless, innocent and spotless. ‘Radically filled with a perfection of grace and wisdom’ [‘Works’ III 169] This was the work of the Holy Spirit in the incarnation. At the very moment of conception the Holy spirit sanctified the human nature of Jesus – he was separate from sinners, he was endowed with fullness of grace, he was holy and harmless, he was undefiled.

The significance for Owen is that the outcome of the Spirit’s ministry is that Jesus is truly man and truly holy. In Jesus humanity and holiness are united, they become the same thing. ‘a perfection’ for the only time since Adam.

(3) The Ministry of Christ and the ministry of the Spirit.
Owen gives us two ways of looking at the Holy Spirit in the ministry of Jesus.

(1) Personal Progress:

In Isaiah 11:1-3 we have a prophecy about the work of the Spirit in the Messiah. John Owen attached great significance to this prophecy. It was by the Spirit that the Messiah would be abundant with wisdom, we can also see this quality in Luke 2:52. We can say that Jesus as the Messiah was sustained and enabled by the Holy Spirit by his continuous presence. The Spirit enabled Jesus to do human things perfectly. The Spirit of God taught Jesus the wisdom of God from the word of God. Jesus grew in the knowledge and wisdom of God through the word of the father constantly revealed and illuminated by the Spirit. Owen declares this in [Works III pp. 170-171] ‘In the representation then, of things anew to the human nature of Christ, the wisdom and knowledge of [his human nature] was objectively increased and in new trials and temptations he experimentally learned the new exercise of grace. And this was the constant work of the Holy Spirit on the human nature of Christ. He dwelt in him in fullness, for he received not him by measure. And continually, upon all occasions he gave out of his unsearchable treasures of grace for exercise in all duties and instances of it. From hence was he habitually holy and from hence did he exercise holiness entirely and universally in all things.’

(2) Public ministry. 

Owen gives us a window to what, for him, is distinctive about Jesus’ baptism – it is that in Jesus’ later years he received a fullness of the Spirit’s anointing for public ministry. This does not make him immune from trouble or danger. In fact temptation is seen as a Spirit led occurrence and the function of this is to advance the kingdom of God and pull down the strongholds of the enemy. In Luke we see Jesus powerfully using the sword of the Spirit with confidence and total assurance.

Just as in the incarnation we see the ministry of Jesus as being a Trinitarian ministry The Son of God being led and enabled by the Spirit of God in order to do the work of God.

(4) The Atonement of Christ and the ministry of the Spirit.

In Hebrews 9:13-14 we find a key text to consider the Spirit’s work in the atonement. Old Testament sacrifice is contrasted with the atonement. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice to cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death. This he did ‘through the eternal Spirit’.

There are two ways of grasping this key text for Owen. One, the text might mean the personal spirit of Jesus, or two the text might mean the Holy Spirit. For Owen if the text ’Eternal Spirit’ means Holy Spirit there are two important facts to consider that the text expresses.

The Sacrifice: 

The contrast between the Old Testament sacrifices and the Sacrifice of Jesus was that his sacrifice was an eternal sacrifice, the Old Testament sacrifices could never be said to be eternal for they were continued one after the other. In contrast Jesus’ sacrifice was eternal because it was offered through the Eternal Spirit.

The Paraclete: 

For Owen the text implies the nature of the Spirit’s ministry in the sacrifice of Christ. Supporting and sustaining ministry. The Spirit supported Jesus generally in the decision to conform to the fathers will throughout his life and more particularly in the garden of Gethsamane. Jesus was enabled to give himself to the will of Father by constant dependence of the Spirit. The Spirit supported Jesus, he became for him the comforter (Paraclete), the Spirit that Jesus spoke of in John 14, and the ministry of that Spirit was qualified with authority because the knowledge of this was born out of his own experience. The Spirit sustained him in the breaking of his heart in his contemplation of the coming Calvary and the spirit sustained him in his dying and death. The companion of Jesus throughout his life is the Spirit By his ministry he is encouraged to grow in wisdom and in stature, by his ministry Jesus is upheld, in temptation, in confrontation, in condemnation, in crucifixion, and by the ministry of the Spirit was preserved in the darkness of the tomb.

Owen bears testimony to this in his masterly teaching on the Holy Spirit.

We find in the teaching of Owen a truthfulness to the mercy and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus – a holy devotion from Spirit to Son.

(5) The Exaltation of Christ and the Ministry of the Spirit.

Owen attributes the resurrection and glorification of Jesus Christ to the ministry of the Spirit. In Gal 1:1 we find reference to the Father who is responsible for raising the son. In John 2:19; 10:38 we find references that suggest the responsibility lay with the Son laying down his life and taking it up again. But rightly Owen notes that in the New Testament there are strands of text that suggest and attribute the responsibility with the Holy Spirit. [Rom 1:4, 1 Tim 3:16, 1 Cor 15:43a & 45-49]

Christ was proclaimed the Son of God in power through the resurrection, the Spirit in the resurrection raised him, and Christ’s resurrection was a transformation. It was resurrection to glorification. From the tomb to the throne Jesus is dependent on the ministry of the Spirit. When we find the texts as above that attribute the role of resurrection to either Father or Son, this is true and right but happens through ministry of the Spirit. The father raises the son through the ministry of the Spirit, the son lays down his life and takes it again through the ministry of the Spirit. Owen states ‘he who first made his nature holy, now made it glorious’.[‘Works’ III p183]

When we contemplate glorification and exaltation, the words of John 16:13-14 are plain. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is in lifegiving, and exaltation to Jesus both in raising from the dead and in constantly giving glory and honour to him.

Conclusion:

John Owens masterly work in volume III of his ‘Works’ on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus Christ encourages two things when you read it.

(1) It encourages a new joy in the Spirit of God. You can see him working in, through, and upon the conception, birth, life, death, resurrection and glorification of Christ. It reveals that the Spirit is truly the ‘giver of life’, as it says in the creed. It reveals that the Holy Spirit’s activity and ministry is promised to believers in the same manner of lifegiving and sustaining as we find in his ministry with Jesus.

(2) It encourages a new admiration and worship for Jesus. All that Jesus was, did and accomplished in his life were given to him by the Spirit of God. The strength to preach, teach, heal, touch and have compassion was invested in him by the Spirit. The strength to carry on when in difficulties, the words to say when in confrontation were all ministered to him by the Spirit of God.

This declares hope and release to the followers of Jesus today. The ones he promised ‘another comforter’ to. The ones who will guide his church until he returns through the leadership of the Spirit.

Owen’s ‘Works’ Volume III inspires excitement and renewed faith that the Spirit is involved in every aspect of God’s creation and redemption. Jesus declares that all that the Spirit was to him, the Spirit will be to his disciples. For this there is only one response. ‘Thanks be to God’.

Re-positioning ourselves with Jesus.

13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."Mark 2:13-17

Introduction:

There is a challenge here, as we read this passage. I don’t know about you, but when I recently have been reading the gospel of Mark, I have seen Jesus in something of a new light. I have been noticing a Jesus that I have not been taught about. Or if I have been taught about, It’s been in spiritualised churchy kind of language, that only reaches my mind and heart. What I’ve been confronted with in Mark’s gospel is a Jesus that far exceeds my own thinking and actions.

I would like again to re-visit this text with the question what would it look like for us to Re-positioning ourselves with Jesus.

1. The Focus of the Pharisees.

Before we do that Id like to say a few things about the focus of the Pharisees, and where they were coming from.

Now, if Jesus was having fellowship with tax collectors and sinners in order to preach to them, the Pharisees would not have been all that alarmed. After all, who would have objected that tax collectors and sinners were forsaking their sinful lifestyle, making restitution, and seeking a life of righteousness? The Pharisees believed and worked within the idea that God offered forgiveness when sinners repented. They would rejoice that a wretched sinner saw the light, repented and was converted from a life of debauchery and made restitution in the community. But what infuriated the Pharisees was that Jesus was not explicitly or directly asking tax collectors and sinners to do any of this. Some of them no doubt did repent, such as Levi (Luke 5:28). But Jesus seems to have accepted them as they were and was freely having dinner with them without requiring that they first clean up their lives.

2. Repositioning ourselves with Jesus.

Lets look in more detail at what it looks like to Re-position ourselves with Jesus.

Scripture calls us to follow Jesus, like the call of Christ to Levi. We all are called to be Disciples of Christ, In effect to live a life as a little Jesus. The call of Christ is to join a conspiracy of little Jesus’.

History records a conspiracy of little Jesus’ imitators of Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, joined the resistance during the rise of the third Reich in Germany.

Soren Kierkegaard a Danish Christian who came out in his country fighting against every phoney form of Institutionalised Christianity.

Jean Vanier a native of Geneva, shocked at the treatment of people with deteriorating mental health bought a house in framce and began his life’s work. He called the house L’arche.

Janani Luwum, appointed as the archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga Zaire in 1974. He stood against the Bloody regime of Idi Amin in Uganda. Janani convened a meeting with Catholic and Muslim leaders in 1976 signing a resolution deploring Amin’s atrocities. The official news was that he died in a car accident, but he was shot.

To re-position ourselves with Jesus is a great challenge.

1. We are challenged us to see the kingdom as he sees it.

To open our eyes and have a good look.This week Take a look at Mark’s gospel and record how many times Jesus places himself with the marginalized, the outcast and the helpless.

2. We are challenged to operate as he operates.

Live as he lives, do as he does, get involved in peoples lives.

We cannot Ignore what it happening around us, we cannot assume that someone else will take the responsibility for community work, for crime prevention and reduction, for care of vulnerable people, for carbon reduction, for working with children in our local schools, the list is endless. We can Engage and take it as part of our responsibility as a gathered community to operate as Jesus operates.

3. We are challenged to accept people as they are.

Not to simply accept from a distance but to align ourselves with them.

This is the difficult one. For we are called to a life of sacrifice if we are called to re-position ourselves with Jesus. To going the extra mile. To putting ourselves out on behalf of others. To significant friendships, to finding opportunities to get along side.

4. We are challenged to learn a new language.

The language of hospitality and welcome. If we are being called to join the conspiracy of Little Jesus’ then learning and practising hospitality and welcome should be one of our goals. A wonderful book written by Conrad Gempf called “Mealtime habits of the Messiah” It’s about the times in the NT that Jesus sat down with people and ate with them. It’s a good book to read that will help fuel our idea’s of hospitality and welcome.

5. We are challenged to live a life of vulnerability.

Living with our own human-ness, our own weaknesses, humility combined with tiredness and the fact that it is not about my own power and ability.We need rootedness, (Resilience if you like) to function in vulnerability. Jesus displays this in his lifestyle, his times in prayer, his times with his disciples, his times resting. His constant openness to the spirit of God. His times connecting with the communities around him. All these things helped in him being rooted. To be truly vulnerable, means to be secure and confident in yourself. (Rooted) We see this in Jesus. It is strange but true, that we see the real Jesus in the gospels, he is really Jesus. We are called to be really us, not a sanitised person, but the real deal. One of the ways we can begin to display to others the real us, is to be rooted, we get that from prayer, from community, from friendships, from fellowship, from connection with the world around us not from separation from it.

Conclusion:

We are called to follow like Levi, We are given the task of calling to others too. As we read the gospels we are confronted with a Jesus who challenges and inspires us to re-position our lives with his. With his kingdom, his ideals, his vision. His mission in the world.

What would our community, our city, our country and our world look like if it was over run with a conspiracy of little Jesus’. Now there really is a thought.

Amen.