Holiness – Penuel Baptist Chapel, Roch

November 18th 2018: Alan Davison

Published on November 28, 2018 by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

Alan Davison Nov18 Joshua 18: 1-10

Humans have a desire for a peaceful life. Yet as a race, humanity is fascinated with war. But there are times when we just need to get on with life. Joshua here has to manage the mundane. But there’s more going on here then first glance. We may feel our lives are mundane but we serve a great God.

Here, in this chapter, deciding on the allotment of the land seems mundane. But to the Jews this was exciting as they saw the fulfilment of the promise of God to Abraham in Genesis, generations beforehand. In the beginning of the section in 13:1 Joshua was told he’s old but there was an awful lot to do. This was followed by a list of lands to be divided as an inheritance. God will drive the people out so the Israelites can occupy it. In chapter 18 we might think this is slightly confusing, ‘The land lay subdued before them’ (Joshua 18:1). There was peace, yet 7 tribes had not received their inheritance. This parallels with Christian life. The Israelites did occupy the land but pockets of resistance existed. We have been liberated yet still have sin in our lives.

‘So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given to you?”’ (Joshua 18:3). The Israelites had been slack; God had given land but 7 tribes had not occupied it. Joshua galvanises the people into action. He knew exactly what to do.

‘And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.’ (Joshua 18:10). ‘Before the Lord’ is a significant phrase. The Israelites were to worship God alone. They were in Shiloh. This was important. Why? Because until now Israel had been a nomadic people but now Shiloh is set aside for the tabernacle. It was their spiritual home (Deuteronomy 12:8-11). The prophecy was now fulfilled, the tabernacle was settled in Shiloh. It was here that God would meet with His people through His chosen mediator – now Joshua. Shiloh was geographically central and now spiritually central.

God’s will is to be obeyed. When Joshua commissioned a survey, it was simply a necessary act for him to do the will of God. Joshua is doing what God required of it. Joshua is also motivating the people to do the task, to live holy lives before God – just as pastors today lead their team. The people complained. They were looking to their own strength not looking to God. Joshua stands firm. When we obey God’s will then He will supply us with the strength to do His Will.

Surrendering to God’s Will. Joshua was not the one who as deciding who had to do what. The primary person involved in choosing the land was God. The casting of lots was revealing God’s Will. The Israelites were accepting God’s choice of land they would be given as their inheritance (Proverbs 16:33). God is sovereign. The Israelites are relying on God’s sovereignty to make the decision. This is a parallel to our inheritance in heaven. We don’t choose. ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?’ (John 14:2). Where we go in heaven is Christ’s choice alone. We will have a place given to us, selected for us by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to strive for holiness here on earth. What lies before us should sustain us in our lives in the here and now.

God alone is to be worshipped. God’s Will is to be obeyed. We are to surrender to His Will. Do we trust God enough to do His Will? If we do, we will surrender to His Will. We continue to live on this earth but our ultimate inheritance is in heaven. Look to the inheritance to encourage us in our life now.

April 8th 2018: Mike Viccary

Published on April 9, 2018April 9, 2018 by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

Mike Viccary-April18 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, Perfecting holiness in the fear of God

What is wrong with the world? We hear tragic stories, terrible happenings, news that more murders have happened in London so far this year than in New York. The world is the way it is because of you and me. When Adam sinned it shattered everything; every one of us is a sinner. Sin is the matter in the world. The world lacks holiness, the presence of God, ‘Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord’ (Hebrews 12:14). We need to be a people of peace, a people of holiness.

We need to be yoked.
2 Corinthians 6:14 states, ‘Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?’ (There is also a reference to this in Deuteronomy 22:10). Jesus promises, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). Who are you yoked to? When you wake up in the morning you may be yoked to an idea or you might be yoked to an ambition. You need to be yoked to Christ. Don’t be yoked with the world. You are either yoked to Christ or something else. Is your life spent serving Christ? Whatever you do, do it all in the name of Jesus, as though you are doing it as Jesus (Colossians 3, 1 Corinthians 10). Do all to the glory of God. Ultimately, if you have an unbelieving boss or spouse, if you love Christ, you will love your unbelieving boss or unbelieving spouse.
Meditate on who you are.
2 Corinthians 6:14-16 gives an incredible description of the kingdom of God. We are in the world but this list of things shows us the kingdom has not yet come in its fullness. If you are yoked to Christ the kingdom is within you – in fellowship, communion, accord, portion and agreement. The Lord has delivered us from the power of darkness and put us with the Son, His love. Everything you think about and do changes when you are in Christ, your whole life is completely changed.

Collectively, we are the temple of God (2 Corinthians 6:16). We are a precisely constructed building with a definite way of doing things. The temple of God is perfect. Peter says we are living stones. Even when you are amongst your friends, at work or with unbelievers, you are a temple of God. Meditate and think often on who you are.

We need to cleanse ourselves (2 Corinthians 6:17)

Cleansing ourselves is rooted in scripture (Isaiah 52). We are to forsake the world. We have been adopted into God’s family. Come out from the world’s system. We get so influenced by the world but we still need to be amongst the world to share the gospel (Ephesians 4:17-5:1). Thank God we have so many promises.

It is our responsibility to cleanse ourselves (Isaiah 1:16-17). Holiness is 100% We need to cleanse ourselves of all filthiness. The Old Testament illustrates this in detail in Leviticus 14. The whole of us must be sanctified. This task is impossible for us. Who can cleanse themselves in this way? Cleansing can only come from the blood of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit. Christ loves the church and washed the church with His speech. Psalm 51 shows us the heart that is so given to Christ, the heart we want to know.

We are to operate in the fear of God. It is not just a question of reading God’s word – to hear is to obey. If you fear God, if you respect Him, you will hate all evil because He is holy. The fear of God spurs us on. 2 Corinthians 5 spurs us on to witness. It is also a key to mission (Acts 2).

How should we receive it? Proverbs 2:1-5. Receive the word of God, treasure it and apply it. Draw back to God. Choose it, seek it. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray, ‘Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.’ (Psalm 86:11).

Remember, we are yoked with Christ. Take great care and diligence with the word of God. To who are you yoked? What is the principle of your life? Do you review and check the principle of your life? Are you taking the opportunity to daily cleanse yourself in the word of Christ? Have you chosen to fear God – to be holy, to be like God, to be so in love with Christ that nothing else matters?

January 14th 2018: Gareth Edwards

Published on February 7, 2018 by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

Gareth Edwards-Jan18

Exodus 12:14-28: ‘Remember, Remember.’

It’s because we are so forgetful that God reminds us: Nehemiah 4:14, 2 Timothy 2:8, Ecclesiastes 12:1, Isaiah 46;9 are all calls to remember. One of the things God wanted Israel to remember was the exodus from Egypt, how God delivered them from captivity in Egypt. Even before it actually happened, God commanded the Israelites to annually observe the feast. Later, entire Psalms would be written to remind them of their bondage e.g. Psalms 78 and 106.

Most of all, the remembrance was to be a twin feast: Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Three times in this passage God tells Moses this was to be an annual feast. They were never to forget the salvation God had given them. Jesus gave us a remembrance feast when he celebrated the Passover feast. Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we do so in response to the Lord’s command, “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24). The Israelites sacrificed with the death of a lamb. Jesus inaugurated a new feast in remembrance of His death – as the Lamb of God. Sinners are saved by the broken body and shed blood of Christ. We must never forget the salvation God has given us.

What were the Israelites to remember? Salvation from sin. God had delivered them from the land of Egypt out of bondage where they had been slaves for 400 years. As they celebrated the Passover Feast they were to eat bitter herbs – a reminder of the bitter experience in Egypt. The unleavened bread was used to show they were leaving in a hurry, to remind them they fled from Egypt. Most importantly was the slaughter of the lamb, the blood sprinkled on door posts and lintels (Exodus 12:22). The final plague of 10 causes Pharaoh, at long last, to release the Israelites. When they celebrated Passover they commemorated their deliverance. The lamb was a sacrifice – deliverance from sin.

Passover was not just deliverance but also propitiation – God’s just anger turned away because of the penalty of that sin, death, had been paid by another. Passover was a double blessing: deliverance and propitiation. We are reminded that we are all sinners and all face the wrath of God. The destroyer who came to Egypt that night lays claim to us – there is no one righteousness, no, not one. All are under the sentence of death. We are in bondage to sin and we face the wrath of God because of that sin. But a sacrifice has been made through the shedding of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are delivered from bondage to sin and saved from the condemnation it brings. We are saved from the power and guilt of sin. As we partake of the bread and wine we remember that God, in His love and mercy, sent His only begotten Son to break sin’s bondage, to turn away the holy, just wrath of God against us, that we may know forgiveness and blessings of eternal life.

We are saved for sanctification in order to be holy. Passover was followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread which lasts for a full week. There were strict instructions. The Israelites were not to eat anything with yeast. Yeast was a symbol of the corrupting power of sin (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). When the Israelites ate the unleavened bread they were reminded of the need to keep themselves pure, clean. God wanted more than to just get His people out of Egypt, He wanted Egypt out of them. He was saving them to holiness. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread every trace of leavened dough was to be removed. People would sweep their houses to make sure there was no leavened dough at all in the house. In spiritual terms the Israelites were not to bring with them any corrupting influences of Egypt.

What are we to remember as we come to the bread and wine? We are sinners saved by grace. We have been saved for a purpose. We are not meant to carry on sinning. Romans 6. God’s purpose in bringing salvation is to save. The power of sin has been broken. You have been freed from the power and penalty of sin. God wants us to remember we are sanctified. He calls us to be holy. Even a small sin is dangerous. Like yeast, it wants to spread. God has a zero tolerance when it comes to sin. God delivered us from bondage to rid ourselves of sin, not to indulge it.

We are saved to obedient working. Israel bowed its head in humble adoration (Exodus 12:27). They worshipped God and praised Him for the deliverance they were about to experience (Exodus 12:28). The theme of the whole book of Exodus is obedient worship. God saved His people for His glory so they would obediently serve Him. This worship and obedience proceeded their deliverance – it’s before the deliverance takes place. Prior to the exodus they give obedient worship as they trust in God.

We trust and obey God, the God of covenant faith who keeps His promises. The experience of the fullness of our salvation we will only now in heaven. Bring saved to be sanctified, we should do whatever God tells us to do with willing hearts. Submit to the lordship of the Saviour.

The Christian life consists of many things but essentially two things: getting down on our knees to worship God and getting up on our feet to worship Him.

Remember, remember. As we partake of the bread and wine we remember we are sinners, but praise God, a Lamb has been sacrificed and the blood shed at Calvary. We are delivered from the power of sin and saved from the wrath of God against sin. We are blessed beyond all imagination. We are saved to live lives to the glory of God, turning away from sin. We do that because our lives are now taken up with the obedient worship of God. Give Him all the glory, all the honour and all the praise!