Amos 2:6-19
God’s Word to Rebellious People
August 23rd 2025: John Mann
Tag: God’s grace
April 14th 2025: Andrew Bowden
Luke 19: 29-44
“And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” Luke 19:28.
There is an account of Palm Sunday in each of the gospels. The setting is the approach of the greatest festival in Jerusalem, Passover. It remembers the time when God delivered His people from slavery in Egypt, when a lamb was slain, when firstborn were sheltered and the blood and were spared. It prefigures the great Paschal Lamb, Jesus. Before the foundation of the world God had a plan. We see here the working out in the fallen world, ravaged with sin, where God is about to establish His greatest masterpiece from eternity past – a mighty awesome event.
Our Lord is coming to His hour, His time. Our Lord here is coming to Jerusalem. It is a moving scene. The crowds, having witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, are euphoric. They extol Jesus as the king. It is out of keeping with the Lord’s ministry. Our Lord always suppressed any hint of euphoria. Alongside Psalm 24 there is an intimation of a coming glory, like on the mount of transfiguration. It is an awesome event.
- The fulfilment of scripture.
Earlier, in chapter 18 verse 31, going up to Jerusalem is all the outworking of what was recorded in holy scripture centuries before. There are predictions concerning His birth, His manner of life, the nature of His ministry, His suffering, death, Resurrection, and His ascension into glory. It is a book of marvels, come down from heaven. Think of the various typography, of Joseph and others, looking forward to Christ to come. It sets forth the wonder of the coming Jesus. God’s covenant love and mercy.
Jesus, when He refers to prophecies, say they testify to Him. For Jesus is the central figure of holy scripture, of the Trinity, the cross, the gospel message. They are all wrapped up in Jesus.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
(Zechariah 9:9).
See all the incredible details, detail fulfilled in this event. God verifies His word.
Scripture has always been under attack. In Genesis we have the word of God under attack by Satan. When we come to holy scripture, we ought to revere it. All the truths and glories of the visible Christ need to be fleshed out, in and through us, as it was with Jesus. We cannot appreciate Him, we cannot love Him unless we are steeped in God’s word. We need to be enraptured in Christ. We need to see afresh Jesus. We need to absorb God’s word. The Bereans searched the scriptures daily, to see for themselves the wonder of these things.
- The excitement of the crowd.
Our Lord arrived at Bethany and the crowds converged and extol our Lord, His kingship. There is great excitement yet they cannot realise fully that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Christ has come as King. That is what is celebrated in Revelation, above all else. He came to vanquish Satan, to abolish death and bring life. He has come to establish the basis of a royal pardon. It is a finished work, a glorious work. The cross is God’s masterpiece. Christ cried on the cross, “It is finished!” Our pardon, our forgiveness. We can never bring anything of ourselves. Jesus came to vanquish the devil, but more than that, to set up a realm of grace. The Kingdom is within you; it is eternal and spiritual. It banishes all guilt, all shame. It is all of God’s grace.
We see here His majesty. He knows where the colt is tethered and what the objections will be. He knows all. He Has rebuked the forces of darkness. Here, He is calm and composed. We see some of His humanity, riding on a donkey, in peace. How many, many, many lives of subjects have been laid down for a monarch? But here, the King lays down His life for His subjects.
There is euphoria, a celebration as Jesus enters Jerusalem. There was euphoria with the angels at His birth. The first carol service was celebrated by angels. In Psalm 24 we see our Lord ascended and sits at the Father’s right hand. As He is received into our hearts we are welcomed as children of God. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
- The Pharisees and their resentment.
The Pharisees could not stand so much being made of Christ. They had a cold, formal religion. There will always be opposition to the gospel. We see moves to make the gospel more palatable. But the gospel begins with the reality of who we are – sinners. It is uncomfortable. That is the bad news. But the good news is that forgiveness and pardon can be found through Jesus Christ. He is precious, Lord of all. Everything should be laid at His feet, joyfully – our talent, our time and gifts.
March 16th 2025: Gareth Edwards
Romans 5:12-21 – Death in Adam, Life in Christ
In just 10 verses a lot of theological truth is condensed. Consequently, there is no time to fully explore the depth of all Paul says here. We’re not going to fully exhaust these verses. I trust, by God’s grace, we will be deeply encouraged and challenged. Central to an understanding of this passage is that God has appointed two individuals to represent men. These are our federal heads: Adam and Jesus Christ. All that we ever will be revolves around our relationship with these two men. There is a repeated contrast. Paul mentions the one man, then the many, or all. The action of the one has a profound effect for the all, the many.
By nature, we are in Adam but our future destiny depends if we are also in Christ. Adam was a type of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45). Paul emphasises the human nature of Jesus. Paul focuses on Jesus being our representative. Just as Adam had been appointed as a federal head, so Jesus is a federal head. Adam and Jesus are similar in that they could be appointed by God to be our representative. However, there is a difference. Adam’s failure brought disaster. Christ brought hope.
Sin and death in Adam.
When Adam fell into sin (v12), we all sinned in him. Sin began with Satan (Revelation 12:7-8), with Adam succumbing to Satan’s temptation. Adam had been created by God perfect, with an ability to resist Satan’s temptation. But he did not. He becomes a slave to sin. What is more, because Adam is our representative, when he fell, we fell with him. So, like him, we are sinful creatures under the dominion of sin. As we all sinned in Adam, we are all condemned in Adam (v16, 18). We are justly condemned before the righteousness of God (Ephesians 4:2). This means we are under sentence of death. God warned Adam if he disobeyed Him, he would surely die (Genesis 2:17).
After Adams fall, after his disobedience, God in His mercy did not enforce the sentence of death on Adam immediately in a physical way. But he was cut off from the fellowship with God. This seed of death would consume him to death. The same sin condemns us (1 Corinthians 15:20). Even at this moment, you and I are the walking dead. We are spiritually dead, cut off from God, from the moment we drew our first breath (Romans 6:23). Sin and death in Adam.
‘How can I be held responsible for what Adam did?’ This is what many people say in the West. Yet, other people understand this (reference to village chiefs – where the chief or elder represent their tribe). When God appointed Adam as our federal head He chose the best candidate. Adam was given the ability to resist temptation. None of us would have done any better.
If we object to Adam being our federal head, our representative, we must also object to Jesus Christ be in our federal head, our representative – therefore, removing all possibility of salvation. In that case, we reject men being sons of God. Adam, even before the fall, was but a creature who had a relationship with God. But Adam was not a child of God – for it was only when the Son of God came into this world and became the Son of Man, one with us and through grace being one with Him, then becoming a child of God.
With Adam we are in a desperate situation, justly condemned. Nothing we can do can change this. We are hopelessly lost. That is why we need to look to God for salvation. He alone can save us. Therefore, Paul speaks of grace and life in grace. In His loving kindness, in His mercy, God appoints a second federal head – Jesus Christ Himself. He becomes our Saviour. In His grace (v15) God offers us the free gift of salvation.
This grace is abundant (v15, 17, 20). This grace is not universal; not all men are saved. But neither is this grace rationed, it is for many. Paul emphasises this by drawing a contrast between the judgement that came because of one man’s disobedience, with salvation that comes to a great many people (v16).
How is this salvation secured? By Christ’s obedience (v18-19). Our second head gloriously succeeded. He perfectly obeyed. In His humility, Christ laid aside glory and honour and humbled Himself to come into this sin-sick world, in obedience to the will of God the father. He lived a sinless life. He lived the life of a perfect man which Adam and all of us failed to do. Even more, He offered Himself up to death in our place on the cross. He bought the wages of our sin on the cross. He offered Himself as a sacrifice, as our substitute, dying under the penalty of the law.
Through this obedience Jesus brings us:
i. Justification (v16). We are declared not guilty of our sin because our sin was imputed, credited to Christ. God pronounced the judgement of death on Jesus in our place. As He pays in full our debt before the law, we are justified. It is just as if I have never sinned.
ii. Righteousness (v17, 21). In salvation through His obedience, the Lord Jesus Christ provides for us justification and also righteousness. Our sinfulness is credited to Him. At the same time, His sinlessness is credited to us, as if we lived the perfect life of obedience. Therefore, we are accepted by God. Consequently, those who repent of their sin, having Him as their Saviour, knowing that He is the federal head, are saved. They have received new life, eternal life (v17, 21).
This means restored spiritual life in the soul. A new life floods our souls as fellowship with God is restored. Because there is new life in the soul, there will be restoration of physical life (1 Corinthians 15:22). Here then is hope for the hopeless, in Jesus Christ with all its glorious blessings.
Are you alive in Christ, or still dead in Adam? It is one or the other, there is no in-between. If you are in Adam, the second death is eternal punishment for your sin in hell (Revelation). If you come to Christ in repentance and trust in Christ as your saviour, you will experience spiritual restoration and resurrection joy. Which one will it be for you – alive in Christ or dead in Adam?
Come to Jesus now. It is a free gift, you do not earn it. We are not worthy to receive it, but it is freely given in God’s abundant grace to all who turn from sin and trust in Jesus for forgiveness. Come. Don’t hesitate.
If you are in Christ, remember your salvation is not of your own making. It is by God’s grace, so endlessly praise the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You can rejoice with thankfulness if you are a child of God in Christ. This is the greatest privilege. It is the source of all blessing. You have great cause to rejoice, to be glad and glorify your Saviour’s name.
October 20th 2024: Gareth Edwards
To view this sermon, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/7DkcZC4Z5sc?si=XkutTVeIfvK1Dn5x
Luke 18:9-14 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector – which are you?
I want to take you back to school and exams. We looked forward to exam time! Probably not! A favourite way of phrasing a question was ‘compare and contrast.’ That is exactly what Jesus does in this parable; He compares and contrasts a Pharisee and a tax collector. Although it is a parable, it may be based on a real event. Whether it really happened or was a story, we know it is realistic. We have written examples of the prayers of some Pharisees which bear a remarkable resemblance to this Pharisee’s prayer. This is very realistic.
We see two men in the same place – the temple. They are both doing the same thing – praying. But that is as far as the similarity goes. These two men are poles apart. Which of these two men are we like? We may want to say we are not one or the other. But the truth is everyone of us is either one or the other.
First, let us look at the Pharisee. He is full of himself. Standing was a normal posture for prayer. But what is abnormal is the nature of this man’s prayer. He addresses God and initially refers to the Lord. But subsequently, he never refers to the Lord again. The Pharisee is talking to himself about himself. He is congratulating himself. There is no confession of sin, of seeking forgiveness. He stands in the presence of a holy God yet feels no sense of guilt. When Isaiah is in the temple and God’s presence is so real, Isaiah can only confess he is a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:1-5). In Luke 5:8 Simon Peter fell to his knees saying, ““Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” In the presence of divine power, Peter can only humbly bow, acknowledging his sin.
This Pharisee, in his pride, praises himself for avoiding the vices so prevalent in others. Then he parades how devoted to his religion he is. The Old Testament only required fasting for one day a year, on the day of Atonement. But the Pharisee voluntarily fasted twice a week (Monday and Thursday). The law required certain crops to be tithed (Deuteronomy 14:22). But the Pharisees went further, even tithing the herbs from the garden. This went way beyond what was required and expected, in order to establish their righteousness and to parade their religious devotion. What the Pharisees said was no doubt true, but he does not see the sin in his heart undoes all his deeds. The Pharisee despises the tax collector and many others.
Pride is always a sin and a mistake. It is the deadliest of sins. We live in an age when we are told to love ourselves, we are not to be down on ourselves. That means we are encouraged to compare ourselves favourably to others. That increases our pride. There can be no pride when we compare ourselves to the righteousness of God. When we compare ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, to His perfect, sinless life, there can be no pride. There can be no pride in a Christian.
The deadliest form of pride is religious pride. It is the most deceptive lie. It is the cause of many being condemned to eternal damnation in hell. It is the most dangerous thing in the world to think we are acceptable to God because we go to church, we pray, read the bible, do good works and serve him. None of these compensate for the overwhelming sinfulness of our lives. We can never earn our salvation. Being proud is natural, the normal inclination of our hearts.
Let us consider the tax collector. He is also full, but not full of himself – he is full of repentance. This man knows and feels his sin. Whereas the Pharisee despised others, the tax collector despised himself and acknowledged he is a sinner. Tax collectors with doubly hated: They were regarded as collaborators with the Roman authority, and also regarded as thieves. Although despised by others as a traitor, none despised this man more than himself. He is ashamed of himself.
We see in the tax collector three things:
Firstly, He stands at a distance. He goes to the far corner of the temple, far away from the holy of holies, to pray. He does not come close to the presence of God. Secondly, he does not even lift up his eyes to heaven. Thirdly, he continually beats his chest as a demonstration of remorse for his sin. He knows he can do nothing other than hope that God would have pity on him, a sinner, “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’”(v.13).
To be merciful is to be propitiated. It’s not a word that is familiar to people today. It is a Bible word which means to remove wrath, for god’s anger to be redirected away onto another. The tax collector knows he cannot escape God’s wrath. He can only hope God will lovingly turn His wrath away from him. He knows he does not deserve mercy but he asks for it anyway.
Have you felt the weight of your sin, the enormity of your rebellion against God? You must come under the conviction of your sin, acknowledge your sin. In Matthew chapter 5 Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This does not mean poor in material terms – blessed are those who know they are spiritually bankrupt before God. Jesus goes on to say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This refers to those who mourn deeply for their sin. They know the depths of the corruption that is theirs and they grieve how they have offended a holy God.
We must accept we are Pharisees by nature and justly the object of God’s wrath, that we are the tax collectors and sinners by nature and justly deserve God’s wrath, before we can even begin to hope that He will have mercy on us. We can have mercy because He showed no mercy to His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He died in our place on the cross bearing the responsibility for our sin.
Jesus propitiated God’s wrath at Calvary. God’s just wrath against my sin was mercifully turned away from me and consumed Jesus in my place. My sin was paid in full at the Saviour’s death. God’s wrath burnt itself out on Jesus as He was condemned in my place. Our only hope of mercy is found in repenting of our sin and trusting in Jesus Christ alone. There can be no pride, only brokenness.
Jesus said it is the tax collector, not the Pharisee, who returns home from the temple justified – acquitted of all his sin, reckoned to be righteous. He is penitent therefore he is justified. He alone of the two is viewed as if he had never sinned at all. The Pharisee saw himself as being righteous but in fact was full of sinful pride, whilst the tax collector knew he was full of sin but he is declared righteous.
Here is the greatest contrast of all between the two men, a turning of the tables. The proud Pharisee is humbled whilst the humbled tax collector is exalted. That is God’s way. In James 4:6 we read, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” God confounds human expectation. It is not the self-confident religious who is saved but the penitent sinner.
It is only safe for you and I to be on our knees, lest the wind of God’s wrath should blow us to eternal damnation. We have to stay on our knees, not just in prayer, but constantly remind ourselves, ‘on your knees.’
Each of us needs to be justified, to be declared righteous. This is only possible if we are clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. There is no other way to know forgiveness of sin except to take Jesus Christ as our Saviour. Will you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation today? Now? Will you be on your knees now? You don’t have to do this physically. Be humbled before God, as you are convicted of your sin, and cry out, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ The penitent sinner who humbly seeks God’s mercy will find it because of the life and death of Jesus.
We cannot earn mercy but we can receive it if we humble ourselves, confess our sin and depend totally on Jesus. Have you done so?
The Pharisee or the tax collector – which are you? It is for you and God. Make sure that if you are being a Pharisee, you are a tax collector humbled before God, trusting in Christ for forgiveness. It is the only way. May those of us who have been humbled by God’s grace be like the tax collector. May His continuing grace to us keep lest we stray to be a bit like the Pharisee.
April 23rd 2023: James Hughes
To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Qhq1Khth4po
Jonah 2 – 3:4
Jonah was a very nationalistic prophet who had been sent to Nineveh, a particularly vicious and cruel empire, to proclaim God’s judgement. From my previous sermon we learnt that the God’s judgement on Nineveh is just. It is an act of mercy – there is an opportunity for repentance. The prodigal prophet Jonah believed that the mission he has been given is wrong because the people of Nineveh don’t deserve God’s mercy and he decides it’s not for him. He was also the sleeping saint. The one man who had all the answers to the storm going on is asleep.
The terrified travellers, hardened sailors who had done this journey before, recognise it is no ordinary storm and are desperately looking for answers. There is surprising salvation; one man sacrificed to save everyone onboard. Then we have the penitent pagans; the impact of the storm becoming calm was immediate and life-changing. Our picture of Christ is one person sacrificed to save everyone else. Christ takes on the storm and sacrifices Himself for us.
Like those in the boat, the world is searching for answers. It knows something is wrong, that this world is a mess, but it looks to politics, charity, morality – all the wrong places. We need to wake up, like Jonah, and tell the people of this world what the answer is.
Another lesson we heard was God saves those who aren’t even looking. The people on the boat weren’t giving God a second thought, yet He sent a storm that directs all their attention on Him. Have you been sent a storm recently to lead you to consideration of your soul? If you’re a Christian, perhaps you’ve been sent circumstances because you may have wandered from God’s love. That doesn’t mean that every storm that you go through is a result of disobedience, but in these things God can draw our attention to Him.
Finally, God works despite our disobedience. We cannot mess up God’s sovereign plans to save sinners. These pagans were saved because of Jonah’s disobedience. It’s a bizarre paradox. That doesn’t excuse our sin.
Today, we continue the story in chapter 2. It is a wonderful prayer that Jonah cries out.
The Sorry Seer.
In Jonah’s prayer we can note three points:
- He recognises the circumstances he finds himself in are God’s doing (Jonah 2:3).
- He sees his circumstances but as his prayer develops, his main concern is his relationship with God (Jonah 2:7).
- Jonah cries that he’s been delivered while he’s still in the fish (Jonah 2:6).
God’s Grace.
The judgement of being in the fish is part of God’s grace; it drives Jonah to God. It’s the best place to be. When he was safe on the boat, he was far away from God’s presence. God restores His relationship with Jonah. From his prayer, Jonah has that sense once more of God’s gracious presence. God’s grace brings him through the circumstances and safely through the other side.
Fresh faith.
Jonah had nothing going for him in his situation. In the fish, deep in the ocean, he seems to be in a hopeless situation. He is aware of this. He recognises that this is the end, yet faith gives him hope because he knows who is in control. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Jonah knows, even though his circumstances are dire, it doesn’t matter because God is in control.
A Preserved Prophet.
The fish vomits Jonah out onto dry land. Possibly, this is the most staggering part of the story, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” (Jonah 3:1-2). Some of the most precious words. Jonah has deliberately disobeyed God, he has done the exact opposite of what God had said. God had every right to say to Jonah, ‘I’ve saved you from your sin and rebellion, you’re out of the fish, but I’m never going to use you as a prophet again, I can’t trust you.’ Yet God is willing to say to Jonah, ‘I still want you to take my message. I still want to use you to share the grace and mercy that I have for the people of Nineveh.’ He is a preserved prophet – not just alive but still being used by God.
Powerful proclamation.
What would your strategy have been for Nineveh? ‘Come and see the man who was swallowed by a fish and survived!’ People would have been captivated. Instead, Jonah walks a day’s journey and declares, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4b). Nothing about a fish, simply a message of God’s judgement on Nineveh. It’s a powerful message.
Pointing to Christ.
Matthew 12:38-42. Aside from the fact that Christ mentions this, it authenticates the story of Jonah as real and not a myth. He directly references that as Jonah was three days in the fish, so He would be three days in the tomb. That’s very important because in this world lots of people have ideas of who Jesus was and what He was doing. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the cross. Christ is not a victim but victor. It is finished! The victory of the Resurrection is happening on the cross, before He is raised. ‘Tis finished! The Messiah dies.’ The victory comes from the cross. It is important we are not under the illusion that the death of Christ was unfortunate. Christ knew exactly what he was coming to do. The reference to Jonah shows He knew He would die and three days later rise.
The most important part of life is our relationship with God, not our circumstances. Jonah’s priority, when in the fish, was to turn to God and address his broken relationship with God. If you’re a Christian struggling with circumstances, the most important thing is having a right relationship with God. If you do find yourself in difficult circumstances, it doesn’t mean necessarily that your relationship with God isn’t right. If your relationship with Him is right, everything will fall into place, all things will work together for good. You may not get to see this at the time, but it will work for good. If you’re not a Christian and struggling, I don’t want to belittle whatever you’re facing, but it’s not the biggest issue you have now – it’s having a right relationship with God.
God forgives and restores us when we fall. Like Jonah, we disobey God, we break His commands by our words, our actions and our thoughts. There is a lesson here for practical forgiveness for Christians. If anybody in this universe has a right not to forgive, it’s God. He doesn’t have to forgive, yet He forgives us over and over again. Even better, God just doesn’t forgive us, He restores us and wants us to be useful for Him again. The glorious news of the gospel is God’s grace and mercy is always available to those who call on Him.
The Word is all that is necessary. Don’t look for signs. Jonah had no interest in exploiting the incredible story of his salvation; he had a message he was given and simply gave it. For Christians, we are in danger today of thinking the Word of God isn’t effective. Remember the Word of God is effective. There is nothing wrong with using creative ideas when sharing the gospel, but the important thing to remember is, is the trust in the messenger, the method or is it in the source and power of the message?
Jonah’s ministry was incredibly effective. It’s likely he was quite a mess at this time, but he gives us great hope. If Jonah can cause a revival in an utterly barbaric city simply by calling out the message of judgement that God had given him, by the Holy Spirit working, then hearts and lives can be changed today.
The Spirit can work. Don’t’ be put off by a lack of supposed inability or past failings. You’re not going out to moralise, you’re not going out there to say, ‘Look at me, how I live and be like me.’ What you are going to say is, ‘I’m a sinner but look at what the Lord has done for me.’ Don’t be put off by failure or lack of ability. Simply share your story, ‘I was a sinner but God rescued me.’ The pattern of the Christian life is mirrored in Jonah’s story: confession of sin, restoration through the love of Christ by the Spirit of God, then service in bringing the gospel to a needy world.
If you’re not a Christian today, what are you waiting for? Are you looking for a dramatic sign? Jesus has some very hard words for those looking for signs, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39) The only sign you can be certain you’ll be given is the sign of the Resurrection.
Jonah simply preached that Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days and people repented. You have been given a message that you stand under God’s judgement and you need Jesus Christ to save you. What is your response?
Saturday 31st July 2021: John Funnell
Genesis 11:1-9 The Tower of Babel
I’m often asked if I can explain the Holy Trinity. God is three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Three totally separate and defined persons, yet also, at the same time, they are perfectly one. How can three be one? How does this work? Can you explain it? No, the truth of the Trinity is too deep, too profound, beyond our understanding. It proves to us that God is beyond our invention. We can’t make something up we don’t understand. We may not be able to understand the complexities, but we can see the Trinity throughout scripture. We can see the application of the Trinity in our prayer life. We come to the Father, by the Son, through the Holy Spirit. Our worship and salvation is Trinitarian. We know from scripture there is God the Father, God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit, united perfectly in their diversity. We are all wonderfully unique, yet we gather as one. We come with our differences, yet one voice. We are honouring Him as we celebrate 199 years of worship at Penuel.
Our God is three in one and this is expressed in the wonderful diversity of His Church. Together, in love, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit created everything. They are Triune. God made us in His image and His image is Triune. As image bearers of a Triune God, we, as human beings, can do amazing things when we unite. We can invent vaccines in record time in a pandemic, we can send people into space. When we unite in God, we can do amazing things.
Genesis 11 is a very famous Bible story, although it is a story that is often taught negatively. But it is a story filled with positive lessons regarding our human potential. We can do amazing things when we come together and unite in one voice. For 199 years Penuel has stood firm for the gospel – one common purpose – to reach the heavens. Nothing is impossible. “And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (Genesis 11:6). These are God’s words. Amazing! What an accolade from God’s mouth.
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).
But as we know, we see here the great Tower of Babel ends up failing. God divides the people through their language and scatters them. God can humble us at any moment. He will humble us if we get carried away. The big question for us is why did God humble the people building the Tower of Babel if they were doing such a good job? Their motive was wrong.
In verse 1 we see the people were moving eastward. Going East is very significant in Biblical narrative. It represents moving away from the presence of God. In chapter 10 we have a table of the nations, the offspring of Noah. This runs chronologically with chapter 11. The people listed in chapter 10 lived during the building of the Tower of Babel. Nimrod, a great builder of cities, was likely to have been involved in the building of the Tower; he lived at the same time and place. Nimrod’s name in Hebrew is ‘rebel.’ It is possible to assume the people were not following God and were following a rebel.
But there are other clues regarding the wrong reasons for building the tower, “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4). This reason to build the tower goes totally against God’s reason for humanity. In Genesis 1:28 we read that God told Adam and Eve to multiply and scatter, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” This command was also given to Noah and his sons, “And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.” (Genesis 9:7).
God tells the people to scatter, but what do they do? The consolidate and build a tower. They were ignoring God’s command to scatter, therefore, they were going against God’s wishes. So, God rightly and justly undid their work.
Why were they not listening to God and spreading out across the globe? I argue that is was because of fear. If they had scattered, they thought they would be weak and vulnerable, totally reliable on God. They were scared of possibly another flood. God had judged the Earth and flooded it. Catastrophic judgement. A flood happening again was a genuine concern for the people of the Bible. They built the tower with bitumen (v3). God told Noah to use bitumen to waterproof the boat. In their fear and rebellion, the people didn’t want to scatter and so they attempted to protect themselves against God’s judgement, so they waterproofed the tower. They were not trusting God’s covenant promise, they were not trusting in God’s grace.
Friends, the tower of Babel showed what humanity could achieve as image bearers of our Triune God. They build a huge tower to the heavens but God destroyed it and scattered them. Why? Well because, one, arguably, they were following a rebel, Nimrod. Two, definitely, because they were disobedient to God’s command to scatter. Three, they didn’t trust in God’s covenant grace. They were waterproofing. They trusted in themselves instead of going to a God of grace. They were scared and feared another judgement, another flood because they were going against God. They centralised their operations. They tried to get to heaven on their own terms. They should have submitted to His grace, trusting in His provision, looking to the rainbow and live free, abiding His love.
As a church today, right across Wales, we are guilty of doing the same thing. The Church in Wales is in massive decline because of it. We have ageing congregations, we are weak, we are low on numbers and low on resources. As a result, we fear closure, so we have stopped taking risks. We don’t want to scatter, we don’t want to spread ourselves too thin. In our desperation, we have forgotten God’s covenant promise. We really should be trusting in God in our weakness. In our fear we create holy huddles, trying in vain to protect ourselves. We are content to stay in our little chapels, worshipping how we want to. We stay and waterproof. What should we do instead? We should trust in His voice, trust in our weakness that God is gracious. The tower of Babel reminds us of what we can achieve when we work together. “And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (Genesis 11:6).
God did not save your soul to build a tower to heaven, to come to God your way. He saved you to go out and take risks, to scatter the gospel, in one voice, in unity, to the community He has called you to serve. Friends, the good news of the gospel, the good news we cherish, is we don’t have to build towers to reach heaven to meet with God. We come to a God who comes down to us, “And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.” (Genesis 11:5). As Christians, we have Immanuel, God with us. Jesus Christ came down, so we don’t have to build up. It is by His grace, not by our works, that we are saved, so that no man might boast.
Jesus came down and showed us, in utter weakness on the cross, that all sin and death can be obliterated. He rose again, and promises to be with us until the end of the age. He gave us that promise so that we can do church as God intended – which is to spread ourselves thin, to take risks for the gospel. God prefers that way, doesn’t He? His power is made perfect in our weakness.
Penuel Church, I love you. You are a small congregation in the middle of nowhere, yet you are utterly untied in your faith to keep going. When I come here, I meet with Jesus. He is here. Your faith to keep going, your faith to reach out into the community in your weakness, is a lesson for the church right across Wales. I pray that you will continue to spread yourself thin for the gospel, trusting in God’s ways.
January 13th 2019: Roger Thomas
Mark 5:1-20
The Gadarene man possessed by demons.
This incident happened quite early on in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prior to this event, Jesus was teaching on the shore of Galilee. He taught thousands through parables. There were so many people there, pressing upon Him, so He had to go on to a boat, facing the shore, to continue teaching the people. In the evening, Jesus and His disciples crossed from the western shore to the eastern shore. They arrived in the country of the Gadarenes. Gadara and nine other cities in the area formed a region known as the Decapolis (In Greek, Deka means ‘ten’ and ‘polis’ means ‘cities’). Most of this region was to the east side of the Jordan River and was a Greco-Roman region.
The Gentiles here kept pigs. To the Jews a pig was an unclean animal; Jews would never keep pigs. To the Gentiles, keeping pigs was no problem.
Jesus and His disciples came to the country of Gadarene. As soon as they arrived a man possessed by demons came out to meet them. He was in a pitiful condition. Reading of this story in Matthew and Luke, as well as Mark, we learn he was a man possessed by demons. A demon is a fallen angel. After the angels were created perfect by God some rebelled against God and were thrown out of heaven. Their chief is the devil. Ephesians 2 tells us they dwell in the air. But in this passage we can also see they live in men, animals or a region. This man was possessed by many demons, a legion. A legion was a name for a division of the Roman army made up of 6000 soldiers, therefore this man had many demons living in him. What was the effect of this possession on the man? Luke says he didn’t live in a house but in the tombs, naked. He was ferocious, a dangerous man. Matthew says that people would avoid going near where he lived because he was so dangerous. He was so strong that he was able to break his shackles and chains into pieces. He’d been like that for a long time. Imagine what he must have looked like. Satan is full of malice, full of hatred. He wants to destroy people. That’s what Revelation 11 tells us. The devil had destroyed the life of this man.
The man knew exactly who Jesus was, calling Him ‘Jesus, Son of the Most High God’ (Mark 5:7). The demons know who Jesus is, they didn’t have any doubt.
Notice the authority Jesus has over these demons. As we go through the passage, we see that when the demon-possessed man saw Jesus he ran and worshipped Him. This man, who no-one could control, bowed down and worshipped Jesus. He cried out, ‘Have you come here to torment us before the time?’ (Matthew 8:29). He is referring to the end of time, when demons will be cast into hell. The demons were worried Jesus would do this now. They begged Him not to do this now, saying, ‘Send us to the pigs; let us enter them’ (Mark 5:12). They did not want to be sent out of the country. They begged Jesus that they enter the pigs, knowing that they needed His permission for this to happen. They could not do it without Jesus’ authority. They had to leave the possessed man but did not wanted to stay in the area. The devil can only do what God allows him to do. Jesus is Lord of kings, rulers, people, angels, over demons and the devil.
Notice the change in this man. After the demons left the man and went into the pigs – 2,000 pigs, they ran violently. Again, see the character of the devil, the stamp of Satan in the pigs as they ran violently into the sea. The people, told by those looking after the pigs what had happened, ‘saw the demon-possessed man … sitting there, clothed and in his right mind’ (Mark 5:15). What a transformation! Jesus had released him from the grip of the evil one. More than that, Jesus had given him new life, He had put spiritual life into his heart. He was born-again. The Holy Spirit had come to live in his heart. He had come to know God. This is why Jesus Christ had crossed the lake – in order to save this man. He was in a Greco-Roman region. The gospel wasn’t only for Jews, the gospel would be for the whole world. The man sat at the feet of Jesus in his right mind. It shows what Jesus can do with a man, what Jesus can do with our society. Do we believe, like this man, that Jesus is the Son of God? Do we believe the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ? To be right with God, to be forgiven of our sins, we need to believe the message of the gospel. The power of Christ gives hope. Look at the change in this man. If we’re not a Christian, we can become a Christian. If we’re a Christian struggling with life, Jesus gives hope.
Look at the response of the people of Gadara, ‘they were afraid’ (Mark 5:15). When the people saw the man they were afraid. Why? There was an awareness in their hearts that something supernatural had happened. You would have thought the people would have been thankful and asked Jesus to stay. However, ‘They began to beg Jesus to depart from the region’ (Mark 5:17). What a blessing they lost! (Jesus did later return to the region, Mark 7:21).
Contrast this with the response of the healed man, who ‘begged Him that he might be with Him’ (Mark 5:18). He believes in God, he is thankful and wants to be with Jesus and serve Him. But Jesus wasn’t willing. Jesus had other plans for him. God has a plan for our lives. It wasn’t God’s plan for him to be a disciple with Jesus, He wants him to go home to his friends, who he would not have seen for a long time, and tell that what Jesus had done. And this is what he does, sharing what Jesus had done for him. What a wonderful testimony. And the people marvelled.
God expects us to share with people what He has done for us. How are we to be witnesses for Christ? ‘In your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15). Put Christ first in your heart. Always be ready to give the reason for the hope that is within you. Do this with meekness and humility. We are only who we are by God’s grace. We need to live the life of a Christian, doing good works, treating people with love (John 13:35), so that others see the light of Christ.
Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch 