Read Deuteronomy 5:23 – 33

Every now and then when you are engaged in a conversation with another person, they let their guard down and you actually hear them speaking from their heart. At that vital moment there’s something in their persona and body language, something in their tone that allows you, for that fleeting moment, to glimpse into their heart.  And O, what a joy it is to see beyond the façade into the real person.

As Moses records the Words of God to the people and vice versa we catch a glimpse of the heart of God. He’s not letting his guard down but deliberately revealing Himself to us. Look at verse 29

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and

their children forever!

Can you hear the deep desire in God’s heart, the longing and yearning? God wants to bless His people. He wants to draw near to them but it can not happen while sin forms a barrier.

Our God is so holy, so righteous that He weeps and longs for His children to fear Him and to walk in righteous paths. He desperately wants us to be all that he created us to be.

When we sin, God is grieved. God is grieved at the sinful state of the world and the unrighteousness that abounds. God is grieved when we deliberately choose to do what we know he has expressly told us NOT to do. Conversely, God is also grieved when we don’t do the things that he has expressly told us to be doing.  If you can imagine the grief and pain in a father’s heart when his son is caught stealing, you are catching a faint glimmer of the grief in our holy God’s heart. God passionately wants you to love Him so much that you willingly do things, live life and even think about things His way, not your own way or in the ways of the world.

God loves you so much that he wants the absolute very best for you and that is for you to walk in paths of holiness.

Prayer:

¥ Pray that you would understand more of the depth of God’s love for you and His longing for you to be holy. Pray this for the people in your congregation.

¥ Pray that God would allow the believers in China to continue to walk in paths of holiness even though they are persecuted and harassed for their faith. Pray that many non believers would see Christ through this Spirit driven holiness.

¥ Pray that God would raise up a spirit of generosity among us as we serve and worship together.

Read Deuteronomy 5:16-22

Read Mark 12:28-34.

Do you notice a clear distinction in the way that the Ten Commandments are set out? Can you see the dividing line down the middle?

It appears that we have two sections. The first set of commandments focus on our relationship with God while the second set commandments focus on our relationship with one another. It’s an expansion of the two great commandments – love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbour as yourself.

You can see it clearly in the table set out below.

We need to realise that the Ten Commandments are still applicable today (perhaps with the Sabbath command modified) but even more so, we need to realise that a command either entails or prohibits the opposite as well, depending on the command. So for example, when we read ‘Do not misuse the name of the Lord’ we should also read into that command that we should be using the Name of the Lord appropriately.  When we read, ‘Do not murder’ we should also hear the command to preserve and save life where possible.’ ‘Do not give false testimony’ necessitates the speaking of truth in all situations!

In giving the Ten Commandments, the Lord has shown the Israelites, and us, how he wants us to be living. These are not burdensome or legalistic commands but rather they produce joy and peace and comfort. These commands are given for our benefit, for our edification and enrichment. The Lord has been exceedingly gracious in showing us his Word, His Commands and His standard. As Paul says to the Corinthians, ‘Aim for Perfection’.

Prayer:

¥ Pray that our obedience would shine clearly to the world, the grace and mercy and love of our God. Pray that many would see Christ in us and come to Him for salvation.

¥ Pray that the Christians in Nigeria would be protected from the persecuting mobs. They are regularly attacked for their faith. Pray for peace, for endurance and for strength to stand strong through the storm. Pray that they would continue to shine the light of Jesus in their world.

¥ Pray that a spirit of generosity would grip each and every person in your congregation so that we can move beyond meeting our costs to supporting the poor and needy, helping churches in rural Queensland and poorer churches overseas.

Read Deuteronomy 5:4-15.

Read Hebrews 8

A lot of people today don’t like to talk about responsibility. Consider especially the Gen Y generation. From their lips we hear a lot of ‘What’s in it for ME?’ but rarely, if ever, do we hear talk about responsibilities.

When God cut a covenant with you and I through the death of His Son Jesus, we were initiated into His family and that came with responsibility. It was an enormous blessing and privilege but it came with responsibility.  Israel in the Old Testament was no different! The responsibility was laid out and spelled out clearly in the Ten Commandments which are elucidated further in the two books in which they occur, namely Exodus and Deuteronomy.  Israel was responsible to strive to be a holy nation, a nation that sought to obey God. Why? Because God had initiated a covenant with her.

As you are well aware, Israel failed in her covenant responsibilities. Part of the reason was that these covenant stipulations were external. But God has done something amazing within us that we’ll cover in more depth later in the week. God has taken these external stipulations and has infused them within us through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

God has promised to put his law in our minds and to write it on our hearts. Why? Simply because God wants, no God demands, that His people walk in

holiness. God has made it possible for you and I to willingly and joyously walk forward in obedience. God has done everything necessary for you and I to be His people and for Him to be our God. It was fully accomplished through Jesus’ death at the cross and His resurrection from the dead to eternal life.

Prayer:

¥ Spend time praising God for the new covenant and that Jesus was willing to pay the cost of forming the covenant with us.

¥ Ask the Lord to increase our giving and tithes so that we can meet all of our costs and provide for the poor and needy. Pray that each and every person will be sacrificially giving and tithing.

¥ Pray that God would provide for the needs of Shiloh Church Ministries in India. Pray that they would be so blessed that they can focus on the real task of reaching out to the world with the gospel of grace rather than fussing with financial, human and resource needs.

Read Deuteronomy 5:1-3

Jeremiah 34:1-22

Most people don’t understand the concept of a covenant. They see it as a contract or an agreement with legal implications. But it is much much more than that. A covenant is a bond in blood sovereignly administered.

What does all that mean? To understand it, let’s work backwards. A covenant is sovereignly administered. It is God who initiates the relationship with mankind and calls mankind into relationship with Himself. Since Genesis 3 mankind has been unable to seek out and find God of his own accord and volition. God is the initiator and fulfiller of the covenant. It was He who saved the Hebrews from the fury and power of Pharaoh, Ra on earth. It was He who brought the people to Himself. It was He who made them into the nation Israel. It was God who administered the covenant.

A covenant is in blood. The Hebrews talked, not about making a covenant, but rather, about cutting a covenant. It’s an unfortunate translation omission that our English bibles don’t mention ‘cutting’ a covenant! The term ‘cutting’ captures well the ’ceremony’ of making a covenant. An animal was cut in two and the pieces were laid out. The members of the covenant walked between the pieces of the animal, effectively agreeing to be treated like the covenant should they fail to keep their end of the covenant. The blood spilt, the dissected animal served as a visual reminder of the seriousness of the covenant.

Finally, the covenant was also a bond. It was more than a legal relationship or a contractual obligation. It was a bonded relationship. A shop keeper has a legal relationship and obligation with his suppliers. He has a relationship, a bond, with his sons and daughters.

When Jesus died on the cross God entered into a new covenant with all who have faith in Him. There is a bond formed between you and God. It’s not a legal relationship (though it has legal elements like your justification) but is a relationship. The bible talks about that bond as a father-son relationship. You are dearer to God than a son is to his father! But it was also a bond in blood. Jesus shed his blood to cut the covenant with you. There was no animal or third party. Jesus was cut to death to initiate the covenant with you. Finally it is administered by God. Lest we think that we are superior to others for being faithful, God reminds us that Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith. He called us. He granted us repentance and faith. He will sustain us and He will glorify us.

You are in a covenant relationship with God. Think about what that means and spend time praising God for it.

Prayer:

¥ Think about the three elements in a covenant and what it cost God to make a covenant with you. Spend time praising God for his willingness to enter into a covenant with you.

¥ Praise God for the faith of your brothers and sisters in your congregation. Ask God to put some of them on your heart and spend time praying for them.

¥ The Presbytery of Darling Downs is meeting this week (ie elders and ministers from each congregation) for a three day camp. Pray that there would be close bonds of fellowship formed, that the meetings will achieve much for God’s kingdom and that the leaders of the Presbyterian Churches would know the will of God for our churches.

Read Matthew 28:18-20.

Read Luke 15.

One could quite feasibly argue that the climax of Matthew’s Gospel is the very last 3 verses. Jesus has conquered death. He has risen from the grave. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. God has exalted His Son to highest place and has given Him the name above all names.

And notice how verse 19 starts. The word ‘therefore’ means ‘because this is true…’ What follows is predicated on the truth that Jesus has been given all authority.  Since Jesus has the name above all names, since Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, you and I are commanded to make disciples of all nations.

The original of the Greek New Testament might possibly read something like,

‘As you are going, make disciples of all nations!’ It is not the going that is commanded. It is the making of disciples that is commanded.  The going throughout the world is almost assumed.

You and I are commanded to be disciple makers. We are commanded to share the good news with people throughout the entire world. We each have a particular role to play in that command. Often we think of making disciples as being for missionaries overseas. But both you and I have people in our world, non believers, that need to be made into disciples.

And what do we do with people as they become disciples? The rest of the passage teaches us. We are to baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (don’t miss the Trinitarian implications here!!!). We are to teach the new disciples (and the old ones too) to obey everything that Jesus commanded (see Romans 1:5)

Finally, listen to the closing words of Jesus. ‘And surely I am with you always, to the end of the age’. Jesus promises to be with us and to walk with us, hand in hand, as we step out in faith to obey this Great Commission.  As you and I step out in faith we will see God powerfully at work. We will see Jesus with us in the most amazing ways. Often when we complain that we can’t feel or see Jesus with us it’s because we are not stepping out in obedience. This promise is contextually based on the foundation that we are going throughout the world, even here in our backyard, making disciples for Jesus.

Two things will happen as we make up our mind to be disciple makers. Firstly the church will grow. Imagine if every believer in your congregation sought to make just 1 disciple every 3 months. The church could potentially double in size each 3 months. Just imagine, just dream of the joy and celebration in heaven as more and more people are saved through faith in Christ. Imagine the joy among us as we fulfil the Lord’s command to make disciples. One disciple in three months. Will you commit to it? Secondly, we will experience the Lord with us in ways that we never have. We will see Jesus powerfully at work and using us to grow His Kingdom. There really is no greater joy than doing what the Lord has called us to be doing. There is no greater joy than walking close to God and being used by Him to impact another person’s eternal welfare.

As you are going, make disciples of all nations baptizing them in name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey Jesus and Jesus Himself will be with you to the very end of the age.

Prayer:

¥ Pray for tomorrow’s church in the park service. Pray that many locals will come along. Pray that we’ll see people come to the Lord Jesus in faith. Pray that God would work powerfully as we step out in faith and obedience.

¥ Pray for each and every person in your congregation to become a disciple maker. Ask the Lord to write it on our hearts to be disciple makers. Pray for opportunities for each and every disciple to reproduce their faith at least once a quarter.

¥ Pray that Jesus would be glorified in all that we do as a congregation. Pray that our relationships would glorify Christ and the way that we deal with non believers.

Read Colossians 4:2-6.

I had been convicted by the Lord about the truth of Colossians 4:2-6 and desperately wanted to put it into practice in my own life. And here I was ordering fish and chips in a little corner store in Tasmania. What good could I possibly do here in Tassie?

The attendant was talkative and I really wanted to share about Jesus but I was too afraid to blurt out anything. So I prayed that God would open doors. Within seconds the attendant asked, ‘Why are you in town?’ I couldn’t believe my ears! I answered excitedly, all the while praying, ‘I’m here speaking in one of the churches and helping them out’. I thought the conversation would end there because church was mentioned.

But to my astonishment the attendant replied, ‘That’s nice. But I’m not religious’.  Trying to be as casual as I could I responded, ‘Neither was Jesus’. I turned around and pleaded with God for this guy to ask more questions. For what seemed like an eternity I continued to pray.

Then the silence broke as he asked another question. ‘I don’t understand. What do you mean?’ I was able to speak of Jesus’ rescue mission and His  love for this man personally. I gave him my card and said that he could ring me if he wanted to become Jesus’ follower. Though he looked completely shocked, he took the card, thanked me and handed over the fish and chips.

When the Lord tells us to make the most of every opportunity, he means exactly that. Make the most of every chance you have to share your faith. Even casual encounters can turn into gospel sharing opportunities. Make the most of every opportunity. It’s not a task as much as a mind set. A friend of mine crashed his car into another car. As he exited the car to talk to the other driver his first words were, ‘This is the best day of your life!’. He proceeded to share his faith with the other driver as they sorted out the insurance details.

Do you have that mindset? Are you ready to make the most of every opportunity? Are you ready to speak words that entice people to ask about Jesus? Are you ready to act and serve in ways that draw people to your Saviour? Are you up to the challenge to be prepared at every moment to give an answer for the hope you have?

Prayer:

¥ Pray for opportunities to share the gospel, your testimony of faith, with the three people you wrote down on Wednesday. Pray that God would allow you to see opportunities as they arise. Pray that you would make an eternal impact in people’s lives by sharing Jesus with them.

¥ Pray that the church in India would continue to grow, even as it faces increased opposition and threat. Pray for the believers in Orissa state as they are particularly persecuted. Ask God to protect these believers and to sustain them through the hardships.

Read John 10:1-18

Unfortunately we really don’t understand the concept of a shepherd in our culture. Sheep are farmed on massive acreages with farm dogs, machinery and a team of farmers. It is nothing like what Jesus talked about. In Jesus’ day a shepherd loved his sheep and cared tenderly for his small flock. He would, for example, build them an enclosure and sit/sleep across the entry way to protect them from wolves and other predators. If a sheep were lost, he would search desperately for that lost sheep.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, comes so that we might have life and have it to the full. He comes to die for us so that we can find the pasture of the Eternal Land. He comes to bless us immensely. He came to lead us and guide us.

As Jesus shared these words with the disciples they would have known that Israel was the blessed land and that Gods’ hand had been with her since the promise was made to Abraham some 2,000 years ago. But something unexpected was said. “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” The Kingdom of God would be fulfilled only when the other sheep (ie The Gentiles) have come into the flock and there is one complete flock under the one Good Shepherd.

This statement by Jesus necessitates a search and rescue mission. Jesus must bring these other sheep into His pen. It by the preaching of the gospel that these other sheep are called. That search and rescue mission was started by the Apostles and continues through the church. The church exists to bring people into Jesus’ kingdom by faithfully preaching the Gospel to the world.

You, as a member of the Church of which Christ is Head, are a vital and integral part of the Church’s mission.

Read Isaiah 42:1-8, Isaiah 53.

The word ‘servant’ may conjure up various images for various people. What do you think of when you think of this word? Forced subjugation? Unfair treatment? Unwilling obedience? Maybe the idea of marriage even entered your thoughts!

Isaiah has several of these ‘servant’ passages. As we read through Isaiah it’s not always clear as to who the servant really is. At points it appears to be the nation of Israel. At other times it appears to be an individual who represents the true Israel. Either way, it is this servant of Yahweh, who will bring justice to the nations but not forcefully or brutally. He will not even break a bruised reed. He will also be or form a covenant with the people of Israel and will be a light for the Gentiles.

Here again is the outward, world focus of Israel. What the nation failed to achieve the servant would achieve through his suffering and death on behalf o of the people. He would be pierced and crushed for our iniquities, for our peace. In hindsight and with the illumination of the Holy Spirit we know that this servant is Jesus. He was the one who brought peace to the world. He was the one who brought the justice of God. He was the one who inaugurated the New Covenant between God and the people of faith.

All too often it’s easy to become comfortable in our faith and belief. It’s easy to forget that Jesus died as much for our neighbours and even our enemies as he did for me personally. The Scripture declares that “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

” God wants you and I to be actively engaged in sharing our testimony of Jesus at every opportunity. He wants each of us to be looking for and creating opportunities to witness to the saving work of Jesus in word and deed.

Make it your goal this week and next week to prayerfully seek to create opportunities to share your testimony with others. But how can I do that? Firstly pray. Pray specifically for opportunities with specific people. Secondly, look for opportunities to do good works (Eph 2:8-10) with or for those people. Thirdly, as you interact, create “spiritual” conversations and go from there. Spiritual conversations can be started by using open ended questions such as ‘Do you ever think about things outside of this world?’, ‘What do you think happens when you die?’, ‘What do you think church is all about?’, ‘What do you think about God/Jesus?’

The Lord bless you as you go forth on His mission.

Prayer:
Think of three people you would like to start a spiritual conversation with. Jot down their names below. Pray specifically for each one and ask the Lord to open doors for you.

1.

2.

3.

The Cherish Life organisation works to protect unborn humans from abortion. Pray that God would bless their work and provide for all their needs. Pray that they (and other such organisations) would have access to government leaders to bring about changes in legislation to protect unborn babies.

Ask God to be working powerfully in our church in the Park Service. Pray that many from the neighbourhood would come along and that we’d see many granted repentance and faith in Jesus. Praise God for this blessed opportunity to share our faith.

Read Exodus 19:1-6.

Read Hebrews 5 As the nation came to God, having been freed from slavery in Egypt God gave the nation its mission statement. They were to be a kingdom of Priests, a holy nation. Now a Priest brings the people to God and vice versa. He is there representative. The Priest brings the blessings of God to the people and the requests of the people to God. He is an intermediary.

When the nation of Israel was officially formed at Mt Sinai, God designated them to be Priests. They were to minister the blessings of God the world and they were to bring the world to God. Israel was given a key role in God’s plan to fill the world with people who willingly love Him.

1 Peter 2:9 applies this very teaching to Christians. We are a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation. We are a people that belong to God. We have the same role to play that Israel had, only it is made more explicit to us!

You and I are called to declare the praises of Jesus, the one who saved us out of the darkness and brought us into his wonderful kingdom of light. He took us off the road to eternal perdition and set us firmly on the road to eternal life. Jesus has loved us with His very life. We are called to be declaring His praises!

We can praise God at home among our family. We can testify to his goodness among our friends. We can share His praises at work. There is no limit to where we can declare His praises. God doesn’t limit when or where we are to declare His praises. He simply tells us to open our mouths and to declare His praises.

What the world needs to see is NOT legalistic Christians, nor stiff upper lip Christians, nor hypocritical Christians. What the world needs to see is Christians that love the Lord with all their heart and show it all over their face. Let yourself be a Christian who loves the Lord and shares Him with everyone.

Prayer:

Pray that God would speak powerfully to people at our church in the park service. Pray that many would hear the gospel message.

Pray for the work of the bible colleges in Burma as they seek to share the Word of Life with Buddhists and other religions. Pray that God would go ahead of them to prepare people’s hearts for the gospel.

Pray for the Mustard Seed Orphanage as they look after orphans and widows in their distress. Pray for them as they teach bible college students. Ask God to meet and supply all their needs in Christ Jesus.

Read Genesis 3:1-15

I often wonder why Adam and Eve ate from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil when they had expressly been forbidden by God from eating of it. Of course they were tempted but I ask myself, ‘Why? Why did they give in?’ Then I realise that I, though I am filled with the Holy Spirit, still give way to temptation on far too many occasions. Had I been in the Garden, things would have been no different.

God was not caught off guard by the events in the Garden that day. His plan was always to send His Son Jesus into the world to redeem sinners to Himself and to make gather a people for Himself. God’s plan has always been to fill the world with people who choose to love and obey Him.

Yet on that fateful day when mankind rebelled against God, God set in motion a rescue plan that would culminate in the coming of a child into our world. This child would crush the head of satan, the deceiver, even though his heel would be struck.

In hindsight and with the benefit of New Testament revelation, we know that this child referred to is Jesus. We know that the defeat of satan happened at the cross. We know that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

But here’s something you may not have realised. From the very moment you were granted faith in Christ you were also conscripted into Jesus’ army. You were conscripted as a soldier for Christ to help spread the good news of Jesus’ victory at the cross.

God’s plan has always been to involve his people in filling the world with people who willingly love and obey Himself. You are a vital part of that plan.

Prayer:

As we make the final preparations for our church in the park service, ask God to put it on everyone’s heart to be P 19 actively involved, to be inviting friends and family.

Pray that we’d see many people come along and that we’d see many come to faith in Christ. Pray that God would use this event powerfully to bring people into his kingdom.

Pray that we’d see God powerfully at work this day when we are out in the Park celebrating His love and mercy to us.