In so many areas of the world there is a continuing, unfolding saga of war and strife. Terrorism in it's many guises is a source of concern for world leaders. In recent years Afghanistan, Iraq, and other areas of the world have dominated the news. One area that constantly appears in the news is the Middle east and Israel in particular. The ongoing strife between the Palestinians and Israel has prompted renewed efforts to seek for a peaceful solution to this sanguinary warfare, a warfare that is rooted in the history of not only Israel, but also the Arab nations.
There is the continual cry for peace, yet there is no peace. The League of Nations in the past were impotent and totally unable to bring peace to the world, and we see the United Nations organization stumbling along down the same rocky path, achieving nothing that has any lasting qualities. Answers are sought, solutions discussed and the air waves of the broadcasting radio and television media all clamour to secure the definitive answers to the situation. Yet nothing is forthcoming!
How true the words of the Lord are as recorded by Luke in the 21st chapter - "Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth..."
We too must feel a certain amount of fear coupled with joy and expectation, because all of these things are the signposts that are showing us clearly just how near the return of the Master is.
Are we like those of his day, when he was preaching and teaching, performing those wonderful miracles, who failed to recognise the positive signs telling of his appearance as the 'Messiah'? Or are we following in the steps of the children of Israel, who were so privileged in witnessing the powerful acts performed in preserving them as a nation? Are our eyes and minds blinkered in any way that will result in us loosing our crown of glory? Surely not dear brothers and sisters. So the remedy then rests with each of us. We have to stop, look and listen. Those three words remind me of the time as a boy standing near a crossing of the railway line, just for pedestrians, they made me think before moving on with my father and mother. I didn't see this sign once, but many times over the years, and you can still see them at crossings today. Since those days I have been blessed in being able to show the sign to my son, and to my grandchildren, taking the time to carefully explain the need to read the sign with care, and to observe and obey what the sign is telling you.
God, dear brothers and sisters, did exactly the same thing with Israel. He took them from the house of bondage, secured their release from a master who treated them harshly, brought them out with much treasure, then gave them specific laws and commands to observe and do. Moses was constantly reminding the children of Israel of their commitment to serve God in the way that He had appointed them. But still they failed to recognise their privileged position. So it is in the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy that we note that Moses is again remonstrating with them to remember all that God has done for them since coming out of Egypt.
"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgements, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?...Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;" Deut 4:5-7,9And the reason?
And so the list goes on, then we read in verse 20:"Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female," Deut 4:16
"But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day." Deu 4:20There in these verses are those three words hidden, to stop...look....and to listen. To stop is to come to a complete halt, to refrain from continuing in what ever we may be doing in thought, word or deed, and having done that is to look. To look at what we may ask? Anything that takes our fancy or immediate interest? or is it to seek out and find that which is of paramount importance, that which can and will have the greatest effect in and on our lives, not only now but well into the future. Having discovered, through the mercy of God, that which will change our lives completely, what is our next course of action? Why surely dear brothers and sisters, it is to listen. Not casually, or just acknowledging that you have heard something that gratifies the mind at that particular moment, but rather listening with very positive concentration, noting and observing everything that will be of immense benefit to you, using every fibre of your being in the knowledge that you have taken the right decision. Yes, you dear brother and you dear sister, like me, have placed our feet, not on a railway line, but on a path that leads to a land of promise. We have each been called, elected, chosen to be the adopted children of God. He is our Father, and as children we must honour and obey him. It is true that we have a certain advantage over the children of Israel, in that we have been blessed with the words of life that are contained in the scriptures. We have been counselled through the work and words of those who have gone before, to stop, look and to listen. It is true, that like Israel in the past, we too can experience the feelings of the flesh, those thoughts that are aroused and come into conflict with the wonderful things of the spirit word. It is then that these words which I read a moment ago should ring in our ears, to be a reminder that it is so easy to drift away, to follow the feelings and dictates of the flesh, just as some have over the last century. It is a sad thing, dear brothers and sisters, when taking the Ecclesial magazine and reading of those who, as Paul said of Demas, once a beloved brother, "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world..." These sad tidings also remind us that Paul also spoke of these latter days when there would be divisions, and those wolves not sparing the flock of God.
"For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." 1 Cor 11:18-19These are a few of the reasons why we have to stop, look and listen, not just to the things taking place around us in the world, and in particular the Middle East, but also within our own house, the ecclesial house of fellowship, we who constitute the Family of God, also ensuring that we are part of the complete household and ecclesia of God. What does Paul also say?"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." 1 Cor 11:18-19
"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal 3:26-29That is our position today brothers and sisters. We are Israel after the spirit, wandering in a dry and desert land, where the acceptance of the seeds of the word of God fall, sometimes to take good root where there is ample water, and conversely those areas that hear knowing that it is the Word of God, and then do nothing about it, because it requires dedication, devotion and above all commitment. No, the sign at the crossing has had no effect on them at all, they have ignored it, and still carry on as before, their end will be in the grave. For those who are prepared to read and observe the sign, then there is hope. It is these thoughts that I have used as a link with the narrative in John's gospel. The opening words of Christ in that fifteenth chapter are very positive:
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." John 15:1-2Just as Moses spoke and instructed the children of Israel of how they should serve and worship God, so is God through Christ speaking to us in these last days of Gentile times. God is responsible for all nature and life form, and in like manner He is responsible for the spiritual life and existence of ourselves. Without God, natural life would not be, neither would it continue to be; and without God, spiritual life would not be. And so without a vinedresser and a husbandman there would be no vineyard and hence no fruit. The same principle applies here, to stop, to look and to listen to the words of wisdom from the perfect, exalted and eternal gardener of all, God Himself, just as Israel in the past were fed and nourished, to become a vine unto righteousness. Yet because of their waywardness, they were cut out of the land, dispersed throughout the world, and then the one who made all things possible appeared. He appeared so that others could and would be called to become part of the vine of God, to be grafted in, to become part of that glorious tree, to produce fruits unto righteousness, to richly feed on the nutritious word of life. Yes, the object of the vine was the production of fruit to bear testimony to the work of the vinedressers / husbandman, then in verse eight Jesus says:
"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." John 15:8We should all be confident on this point, that this is the object of the vineyard, otherwise there is no use for them. Vineyards are there for the production of fruit, and Paul in writing to the Corinthians says: "Ye are God's husbandry" and as the vinedresser Paul says "God worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure". The result of this, brothers and sisters, is that the pleasure of the LORD will prosper in Christ who is the true vine. This fact is an echo of the words of Christ in the ninth verse where we read:
"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love." John 15:9Wise counsel indeed, and how many today fail to stop, look and listen? Very few, but Jesus didn't stop there, he continued:
"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." John 15:10How simple it is if we observe what we know is the right and proper thing to do, and that is the crux of the whole matter! It is because the way to God has been made easy to understand, that the world turns away from it. It looks at the word of God with mistrust and cynical scepticism. If any of us should even think in this manner, then in the day of judgement we will have a lot to answer for. Unless we stop and think, and look carefully at the words in the thirtieth chapter of Proverbs verses 5 and 6:
"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Prov 30:5-6How true these words are dear brothers and sisters? This is where we have again to listen, let the full impact sink in, thereby ensuring that we don't fall into the snares that are about us on every side. Because if we are not prepared to heed the caution, then we come into that category spoken of in verses 12 and 13:
"There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up." Prov 30:12-13If we consider ourselves, in all humility, to be grafted into the true vine, what sort of brothers and sisters of the Lord should we be? Are we really part of that "Noble vine" that has been planted by God? Jeremiah asks this question in chapter 2 in verse 21
"Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?" Jer 2:21Human nature of itself reverts to degeneration; even with much care and attention spent on it, far from thriving, it goes back and produces wood instead of fruit. Is it any wonder then that Moses and Joshua were continually chiding Israel? Or of Christ reviling the scribes and Pharisees? Yes dear brothers and sisters, it is so simple to slip back, to say to yourself, "I'll be all right, I still believe, well to a degree, that there is a God. Anyway I don't have to justify myself, its my life I'll do as I please!" Oh how foolish, how unwise, how degenerating, how easy to eventually find yourself drinking the bitterness of gall! What a disastrously and disgusting disappointment! The grapes may look pleasant, full and luscious in growth, yet when bitten into, there is the dust of bitterness, a repugnant odour assails the nose, it is corrupt, putrefying, offensive, disease ridden and completely obnoxious. Not a pleasant thought by any means, and yet there are those who have succumbed to this temptation. Are we sure that we are not being unknowingly drawn away from the real true fruit of the vine?
It is the Master himself who declares the true principle, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Now the lesson should come right home to us. Yes, we have all witnessed as I said earlier of the tragedies that are being enacted at this very moment in Israel and Lebanon. This is another cautionary sign shining brilliant across the world, and we need to take care, to stop, look and listen. But Christ, in that fifteenth chapter of John verse 16 through to verse 21 said this:
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me." John 15:16-21Then come comforting words from his lips in chapter sixteen verse 1 to verse 4.
"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you." John 16:1-4How true the Lord's word were, and still are. We still have to be on our guard, and there is only one way to do it isn't there? By steeping ourselves in the richness of God's word, observing every sign we see, and taking the appropriate action to ensure that we have not strayed from the path leading to honour and glory. In four days time if the Lord will, we will come to the end of this inspiring gospel narrative of John, one that is filled with so much to help us as we proceed Zionwards. He died that we might have life, but before doing so he said this to his disciples:
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3Let us, dear brothers and sisters, keep our eyes and minds wide open, and not be deceived.
"For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Heb 10:37Are we ready for that day? I pray the Lord we all are, for soon there will be time no longer for us to stop, look and listen. Let us come then before this table of remembrance with hearts and minds full of thankfulness and gratitude to our Heavenly Father that we have been called to be His sons and daughters. May we hear those words from our Lord's lips:
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:" Mat 25:34
J.W.C