LIFT. BLOG 7. 28/7/19 BE LIFTED THROUGH THE TRUE DAVID

CONTENTS 

Come to Jesus Daily devotional

• Monday – Be lifted by leaving Saul behind
• Tuesday – Be lifted by a broken yet joyful heart
• Wednesday – Be lifted you are not outside alone
• Thursday – Be lifted by the true shepherd 
• Friday – Be lifted through the true victor

For links to the message and our blog which contains all of our studies, go to our website,

www.communitychurchputney.com

1. COME TO JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

One of our goals as a church is to spend at least 20 minutes every day in prayer and worship out of the bible. I hope you find this devotional helpful toward that end. 

This series, LIFT…

…is different to our usual practice for working through a book of the bible. I thought that, for this season, it would be refreshing to seek God for what He wants to say and to simply share that. 

I trust that such an approach will help remind all of us to be prophetic - to listen to what God wants to say as a lifestyle. 

These daily studies, likewise, are from my, and other church member’s devotions. I will also include devotionals derived from the various contributions that you share, as a church, in various settings. 

Matt Beaney June 2019 

MONDAY – BE LIFTED BY LEAVING SAUL BEHIND 

1 Samuel 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

How are we to read the account of David and Saul? For the first few years after becoming a Christian I often cast myself as David - 'a man after God’s own heart’ (1 Sam. 13:14) rather than Saul the compromiser; surely, all my zeal and efforts make me a prime-candidate for great things! However, over the years I’ve learned that we are firstly to see Jesus as the hero - the David - in this story.

The reality is, we all start off as Saul - we are sinners - made to rule but we have rebelled against God. Just like Adam in the Garden, Saul had so much opportunity and potential but he chose to rebel against doing things in God’s way. This is you and I before we asked Jesus to forgive us. And now we must put off our temptation to live under Saul - our old selves, and put on our new identity which is being renewed in the image of Jesus - like David the man after God’s own heart. 

RESPONSE – STOP GRIEVING FOR SAUL

Firstly, this means to give your life completely to the true king, or reaffirm your trust and devotion. How are we like Saul - how are we compromising? Let’s confess again, “Jesus is Lord!” 

Secondly, stop grieving for Saul - Stop remembering your sin, stop going over the corpse of your stinking past. If you have put your faith in Jesus, Saul is dead and buried, you are a new creation! 

Thirdly, ‘fill your horn with oil and be on your way’. Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. As one is filled with the Holy Spirit, He establishes our loyalty and love for Jesus. So ask to be filled with the Spirit (See1 Corinthians 22:3).

TUESDAY – BE LIFTED BY A BROKEN YET JOYFUL HEART 

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Samuel is sent by God to anoint one of Jesse’s sons, king. Samuel, initially, is tempted to look at the impressive outward appearance as indication of God’s chosen king. God corrects Samuel saying “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” How should we apply this story to ourselves? Perhaps you are foolishly self-confident and so believe that God sees your amazing heart - Surely, you think to yourself, I’m destined for great things! Perhaps you are the reverse and believe that God looks at your heart and so rejects you and could never trust you with any great service for Him! Have no doubt, God sees your heart (your inner desires) so how can we live in peace knowing this to be true? 

Firstly, let’s remember that David is a ‘type’ of Christ. Have no doubt that Jesus, our king, has a perfect heart. He was without sin even in His inner depths. He is our perfect king and Saviour. 

Secondly, there is much that is sinful in our hearts and God does want to continue to improve us, but, the primary thing that God wants to see in our hearts is humility that recognises its sin, and faith that trusts in Jesus alone for righteousness. 

RESPONSE

God sees your heart. Is it conceited and judgemental? Or is your heart broken by your sin, but full of joy and trust in Jesus - the sinless one who died in your place? As David wrote, after his sin of adultery against Bathsheba 

‘My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.’ (Psalm 51:17) 

WEDNESDAY – BE LIFTED YOU ARE NOT OUTSIDE ALONE 

1 Samuel 16:10-11 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

This story is usually used to encourage us in this sort of way – “you may have been overlooked in your life but God sees you and has a great plan for your life…promotion is coming…”  It’s used to heal us of our sense of rejection and the pain of feeling like an outsider. 

However, let’s remember that the Old Testament is, firstly, pointing to Jesus. Jesus was ‘left out’ and so was born in a stable; He was left out by many of the religious teachers who were meant to be waiting for the Messiah; He was rejected and nailed to the cross even though He was Israel’s King and God incarnate; He took the wrath of the Father upon Himself where He quoted the words of the David from Psalm 22,  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And He is still insulted and rejected by many today. Many still leave Jesus outside. 

RESPONSE

How do we deal with our sense of rejection? The bible’s solution is not to think positively and believe that our ‘hero taking the stage moment’ is coming, to the tune of something from a Hollywood movie of your choice! Rather, healing is found in considering Jesus,

‘Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’ (Heb.12:3). 

Focussing on Jesus keeps us from the resentment that being ‘left outside’ can foster. We may be outside but we are there with Jesus! We learn to serve God and people even in obscurity. 

THURSDAY – BE LIFTED BY THE TRUE SHEPHERD 

Saul the ungodly, declining king cannot defeat Goliath the enemy of God’s people. David, however, offers to take him on. 

1 Samuel 17:33-36  Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,  I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 

How should we read this account? Perhaps we are tempted to see it as spurring us on to greater acts of faith for Jesus. Although this is not wrong, it is not the primary way to apply this text. Firstly, it’s about Jesus who is our protector as our good shepherd. Jesus says,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11-13)

RESPONSE

This account does not burden you to do something; it unburdens you through trust in the good shepherd. He loves His church, He loves you, He has given His life for you. 

Saul cannot and will not protect and save you - in other words, don’t be tempted to look to anyone, anything, certainly not yourself, as your protector and Saviour.

FRIDAY – BE LIFTED THROUGH THE TRUE VICTOR

Saul looks the part with his heroic stature cannot defeat Goliath (we could say legalism/good works looks the part but can never save!) Instead, victory is won by David (Jesus), the one who seems totally unqualified. Saul assumes that David will need the kind of weaponry that he would use to win this fight, 

‘Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic…armour… helmet…“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.  Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.’ (1 Samuel 17:38-40)

God’s methods of victory are completely different from the wisdom of this world. 

‘As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.’ (1 Samuel 17:48-50)

RESPONSE

How should we read this account? Let’s resist seeing it, principally, as a provocation to us to, “be like David and attempt great things for God!” Rather, let’s glorify Jesus who has defeated the enemy on the cross for us! We can only win the victory over condemnation through the victory of the cross! We can only save others through the ‘weapon’ of the gospel!  There are no victories to to be had in our service for Jesus or people if we do not seek to bring the gospel - the victory of Jesus - to people. And, those who see and rejoice in Jesus’ victory will attempt great things for God also!

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LIFT. BLOG 6. 21/7/19 BE LIFTED BY GRACE

CONTENTS 

Come to Jesus Daily devotional

• Monday – Be lifted by Learning from others
• Tuesday – Be lifted by what the Spirit reveals
• Wednesday – Be lifted by boasting 
• Thursday – Be lifted from your past
• Friday – Be lifted seeing God’s righteousness 
• Saturday – Be lifted by the hope of glory

For links to the message and our blog which contains all of our studies, go to our website,

www.communitychurchputney.com

COME TO JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

One of our goals as a church is to spend at least 20 minutes every day in prayer and worship out of the bible. I hope you find this devotional helpful toward that end. 

This series, LIFT…

…is different to our usual practice for working through a book of the bible. I felt thought that, for this season, it would be refreshing to seek God for what He wants to say and to simply share that. 

I trust that such an approach will help remind all of us to be prophetic - to listen to what God wants to say as a lifestyle. 

These daily studies, likewise, are from my, and other church member’s devotions. I will also include devotionals derived from the various contributions that you share, as a church, in various settings. 

Matt Beaney June 2019 

MONDAY – BE LIFTED BY LEARNING FROM OTHERS

BASED ON BEN VIRGO’S MESSAGE

This city (London) and nation has a great heritage of leaders from whom we can learn. Hebrews 13:7-8  tells us, 

‘Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ (Heb. 13:7-8)

Great leaders, and anyone seeking to see transformation, have certain priorities that we can all have: 

1. The gospel

Anyone seeking to change situations and other people must first let their own heart and lives be transformed by the true gospel that brings us connection to God and a new power by the Spirit. 

Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-7 and see how the gospel gives us hope for now and the hope of eternal glory. 

We see in the lives of people like John Wesley, those who are very religious and strict, that it’s only as the light of grace dawns can one be truly effective and persevere. 

2. Faith (Feeding on and delighting in Christ)

"No man ... can persist from the beginning of his life to the end of it in a course of generosity, [or] in a course of virtue ... unless he is drawing from the fountain of our Lord himself.” - Shaftesbury

3. The bible

Exemplary leaders fed on Christ in His word.They know that the bible is God’s powerful word. Likewise, only as we learn to delight, trust and feed on the whole bible will we flourish. 

5. The church

Those who have done great things for God have been strengthened by their brothers and sisters in the church, and have sought to build the local church. 

6. Prayer.

Finally, prayer - connecting with God and asking Him to act - is the natural overflow of each of the traits we have been considering. Any great leader is a lover of prayer because he or she is a lover of God. 

RESPONSE

Think and pray through each of these five attributes. Which are your strongest and which your weakest? 

Meditate and pray out of 2 Corinthians 5:1-7. Spend some time thanking God for the great gospel - He has saved you freely in Jesus! Now, in light of His grace, how does He want you to change? 

TUESDAY – BE LIFTED BY WHAT THE SPIRIT REVEALS 

1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 

How do we know that the Holy Spirit has is working in us? We confess and love Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Believing is not simply a choice that we made having considered the facts. Faith in Christ is a supernatural gift of the Spirit that overcame our inability and hostility. Paul also writes, 

‘As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.’ (Eph. 2:1-2)

Whilst we were in rebellion to God, under the domination of the devil, God broke in with loving kindness, 

‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Eph. 2:4-5)

RESPONSE

Do you see that your salvation is a choice that you made, but was a choice that was enabled by the working of the Holy Spirit? He did not give you new life and faith because of anything in you, but because He had great love for you; and why did He love you? Well I simply respond in Paul’s words as he quoted Hosea, 

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,” (Rom. 9:25) 

The Holy Spirit has given you eyes to see the wisdom and power of the cross; the Holy Spirit, today, wants to keep glorifying God’s grace (free gift) through the cross in your heart and mind.

WEDNESDAY– BE LIFTED BY BOASTING

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.

Paul could say “I’m not ashamed of the gospel” which is another way of saying, “I’m boasting in the gospel”. Although he had been devoted to religion, he came to realise that he was a wretched sinner who deserved nothing but God’s wrath and judgement. To such a man, the good news that Jesus has taken our sin and judgment, and has given us righteousness, adoption and eternal hope, comes like the relief after waking from a nightmare in which we had lost what was most dear - such a person ‘boasts’! 

Martin Luther was a man who, although he was a monk and  devoted all his time to God, he still knew himself to have fallen short of God’s perfection - He knew himself condemned. However whilst whilst teaching on the Psalms and studying Romans during 1513-15:14, revelation of the gospel broke in,

"At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I ... began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith… Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open."

RESPONSE

The gospel reveals the righteousness of God - namely, how one is given perfect righteousness apart from works. Are you trusting in God’s gift? Does your joy depend on your mood or your performance? Let’s confess again that we are helpless and that Jesus has done it all! Let’s hear the invitation to rejoice - to boast in Jesus, ‘The gates have been flung open’!

THURSDAY – BE LIFTED FROM YOUR PAST

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.

John Newton, best known for his having written the words to the hymn, Amazing Grace, was a slave trader who, by God’s grace, became a church leader and lover of Jesus. If he had access to our modern communications, I can only imagine what his social media history would show, and how he and his enemies would use his past to lash him. His conversion began whilst on a ship in a storm in 1748. After battling all night, Newton said to the captain: ‘If this will not do, the Lord have mercy on us.’ Commenting on the affect of this apparent ‘throw away’ comment he said, ‘I was instantly struck by my own words… this was the first desire I had breathed for mercy for many years.’ As the storm, continued he reflected on his blasphemous life; he was to ask, ‘What mercy can there be for me?’

Today’s text tells us that that the gospel (what Jesus did on the cross) is ‘the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes’. None of us have the power to save ourselves. We are in a ship, in a storm, listing under the weight of our transgressions. However, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ (Romans 10:13)

RESPONSE

How is your relationship with your past? Maybe you replay your past sins and feel condemned. Alternatively, you may replay your past and hanker after your past! Let’s allow the past to drive us back to the cross; where we see perfect love purchasing our forgiveness, and showing us the truth of the ugliness of sin.

FRIDAY – BE LIFTED SEEING GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.

What is the ‘the righteousness of God’? This is His moral perfection. Anybody who has any revelation of God holiness (another way of saying this) realises their own sinfulness before such beauty. Isaiah, on having a vision of God said, “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)

God’s righteousness is a standard to which no person can ever attain. None have loved God or others for a moment God requires. But hope breaks in as we read on in today’s text,  ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith…’  Wonder of wonders, all of us can have God’s righteousness credited to us by faith in Jesus! 

RESPONSE

What Paul writes can often be said of us on their worst days, 

‘They did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.’ (Rom. 10:3)

John Calvin wrote, ‘The first step to obtaining the righteousness of God is to renounce our own righteousness’. Every morning, begin the day by throwing off your own righteousness. Exult in ‘the righteousness of God’ given to you through faith in Jesus. The miracle is that any beauty that we see in God is now a mirror of the beauty that is ours through Jesus!

SATURDAY – BE LIFTED BY THE HOPE OF GLORY

Romans 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Foreknown – God’s ‘foreknowledge’ means to love us in eternity past. This foreknowledge being by God’s unsearchable grace. 

Predestined – Because God loved us before we were ever born, He has a destiny for us that surpasses anything we could imagine –to be ‘conformed to the image of His Son’! That is to be renewed in every way and to live eternally in a new heavens and earth. 

Called – Because God loves us and has this great purpose in mind, He ‘called’ us. This is the supernatural work of the Spirit making us alive and able to respond to the message of Jesus. 

Justified – The work of the Spirit in us enables us to see the wisdom and power of the cross and so turn to Him in faith. By faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are justified - the judgment on our sin has been paid for by Jesus for us! 

Glorified – This leads to the final stage - if we have been justified, if our sins have been paid for in full by Jesus, there is nothing that will stop us enjoying glory with God and being glorified - Being renewed in every way so as to be like Jesus. 

RESPONSE

The point of this passage is to assure us that God will certainly complete His work in us! God began the work without our help, and He will complete it without any contribution from us! 

‘Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.1:6 )

John Piper wrote about this, 

‘What’s the point of a chain of statements like this? The point is certainty and confidence and assurance and security. The point is that God is the one who saves his people, really saves them. He does not just offer salvation, he saves them. From beginning to end he is the One who decisively and infallibly acts so that not one of his own is lost. The point is that the chain cannot be broken: all the foreknown are predestined; all the predestined are called; all the called are justified; and all the justified are glorified. The point is to guarantee that everyone in the chain will reach the goal of glory!’

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LIFT. BLOG 5. 14/7/19 BE LIFTED BY GOING TO THE SOURCE

CONTENTS 

1. Come to Jesus Daily devotional

• Monday – Be lifted by going to the source
• Tuesday – Be lifted by Being washed 
• Wednesday – Be lifted through thirst
• Thursday – Ezekiel Pt. 1. Be lifted by seeing the river
• Friday – Ezekiel Pt. 2. Be lifted by going where the river flows
• Saturday - Ezekiel Pt. 1. Be lifted by naming the city ‘the Lord is there’ 

2. Community Group/Family Study

For links to the message and our blog which contains all of our studies, go to our website,

www.communitychurchputney.com

1. COME TO JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

One of our goals as a church is to spend at least 20 minutes every day in prayer and worship out of the bible. I hope you find this devotional helpful toward that end. 

This series, LIFT…

…is different to our usual practice for working through a book of the bible. I felt thought that, for this season, it would be refreshing to seek God for what He wants to say and to simply share that. 

I trust that such an approach will help remind all of us to be prophetic - to listen to what God wants to say as a lifestyle. 

These daily studies, likewise, are from my, and other church member’s devotions. I will also include devotionals derived from the various contributions that you share, as a church, in various settings. 

Matt Beaney June 2019 

MONDAY – BE LIFTED BY GOING TO THE SOURCE

I was recently in my kitchen and I was filling a bottle with water and suddenly I realised that my foot was getting wet. The water was running down the bottle, over the surface, and dripping onto the ground and my foot. What should I mop up first the floor or the surface? Of course, go to the source - you stop the source, you stop the flow. 

In terms of a river, if the source is polluted or damned, the health of the river is affected. When you deal with the source all that happens down-stream is touched.

Psalms 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

There is a river for us. This river is the Holy Spirit and all the good things that are ours through Jesus. We need to be convinced that there is a river if we are to enjoy it. Jesus wants to speak to you about the stream that He supplies. There are lots of rivers that make sad, make mad, but only one that makes us truly glad.

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit… (John 7:37-39)

RESPONSE

If you stop the source, you stop the flow. If we fail to be filled with the Spirit each day, our joy and fruitfulness will wither. 

How are you at the moment? Full of joy and hope? If you are, please encourage others. If not, ‘there is a river…’ He is the only river. In Him, we are washed and refreshed. 

And let’s not forget, this is not just about you. This river ‘makes glad the city’. This river flows into you and, through you, brings the hope of Jesus to your brothers and sisters in the church and beyond.

This week: Memorise John 7:37-39 and meditate and pray out of each day and throughout the day. 

TUESDAY – BE LIFTED BY BEING WASHED

Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away, calling on his name.

My sins have been washed away. What an amazing truth. Without me doing anything, I have been washed clean. Simply by ‘calling on His name’ I have received this gift of salvation. Anyone who calls on His name will be saved (See Romans 10:13). I needed you to wash me. I had no way of removing my indelible stains. Only you could have done this for me (See Isaiah 1;18)

How does such a miracle of cleansing happen? Through calling on His name - the mighty name of Jesus. Calling on His name means:

• We know that we are lost and need help. 
• To call on His name - it is to believe that Jesus can help us in our greatest need (salvation) and all other needs. 

The account of Naaman, the ‘great army commander’ is very helpful. Despite his greatness, he had leprosy. No matter what our worldly status, we are sinners in need of cleansing. Naaman was very offended when he is told that his cleaning will come by simply washing in the River Jordan. Likewise, let’s not be offended by the declaration of our complete helplessness that the gospel - salvation by faith alone - declares. (Read the account in 2 Kings 5) 

This ‘calling on His name’ is a one-time and on-going thing. It’s to be justified through faith - a one-time act; but we are to continually keep our faith on Jesus. We must never go back to unbelief or works-based self-righteousness - self-cleaning. 

RESPONSE

May I call on your name yesterday, today and forever. Keep my heart faithful. Through your word I hear your command to call on your name and so I know that my faith response will be met with your divine power to do so.

WEDNESDAY – BE LIFTED THROUGH THIRST 

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

In Matthew 5:3-12, Jesus gives us a portrait of a Christian, known as the Beatitudes (Latin for blessed). Each attribute starts with “Blessed…”. Blessed means to be happy and in good relationship with God. In our culture, that avoids hardship at all costs, it seems nonsense to say that someone is ‘blessed’ when they “hunger and thirst for righteousness”; to put it another way, Jesus is saying that we are blessed when we know our sinfulness and look to God for a solution to our hopelessness. Jesus tells us a parable that illustrates this point beautifully, 

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable…The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’  “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14) 

RESPONSE

Do we hunger and thirst for the gift of righteousness - forgiveness and reconciliation - that are only available through faith in Jesus? Jesus completely satisfies us. We have the gift of righteousness freely - such a person is truly blessed. But, and this is a paradox, we ever remain at the same time those who ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ - a desire to appreciate Jesus more deeply and to be more holy in our lives.

THURSDAY – EZEKIEL PT. 1. BE LIFTED BY SEEING THE RIVER

Ezekiel 47:1-6 …I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple…the water was trickling from the south side…then led me through water that was ankle-deep…led me through water that was knee-deep…led me through water that was up to the waist…now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

Beginning in 593B.C, Ezekiel was a prophet (someone who speaks God’s words) to God’s people who were exiled in Babylon. Running Ezekiel 40:1 to 48:35 we have a prophetic vision of the restoration of the Land, Jerusalem and the temple; it’s within this promise that we see the river flowing out of the restored temple. To what does this vision principally point? Although Israel were returned to the Land and the temple was rebuilt, the magnificence of this vision point to something way beyond this! 

This vision of restoration, and the river flowing from the temple point, firstly, to the ‘age of the Spirit’. This period, in which we are made alive (regeneration) and empowered by the Spirit. 

Secondly, the vision points to the restoration of all things; the new heavens and new earth at the return of Christ. 

RESPONSE

We are to see the future hope that we have and we are to enjoy that future age, to some measure, right now. We are to ‘see the river’ - understand and enjoy God’s presence in our lives right now. 

A good response would be to meditate and pray out of 40:4, 

‘And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you.’

FRIDAY – EZEKIEL PART 2. BE LIFTED BY GOING WHERE THE RIVER FLOWS. 

Ezekiel 47:6-12 Then he led me back to the bank of the river.  When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.  He said to me, ‘This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.  Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows…

The river is great – Having been shown the river flowing out of the temple with its every increasing depth and awe-inspiring grandeur, Ezekiel is taken on a closer inspection. It’s as if God is saying, “it’s not enough to know my Spirit’s omnipotent power and joy, you must also be a student in what my Spirit accomplishes”. 

The river does good – The results of the outflow of the river -the Holy Spirit-  are that the dead places burst into life. A church that is full of people who are coming to Jesus daily to worship and be filled with the Spirit will be a community that overflows and brings life to those around them.    

The Holy Spirit is flowing in order to bring people to salvation in Jesus. This is His first passion. Having become Christians, the river of the Spirit continues to flow in and through us to do good works for the flourishing of the communities around us. These take the form of ‘confrontation blessing’ (doing good by being salt and light as we challenge sin) and ‘service blessing’ (doing acts of kindness which help people’s real needs). 

RESPONSE

The river of the Spirit is flowing and He, the Spirit, is taking us to the ‘dead sea’ - places that need to hear about Jesus. Let’s allow the Spirit to take us there. Let’s be prepared to be ‘salt and light’ as well as servants to our communities.

SATURDAY – EZEKIEL PART 3. BE LIFTED BY NAMING THE CITY ‘THE LORD IS THERE'

Ezekiel 48:35 The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. ‘And the name of the city from that time on will be, “The LORD is there.

Ezekiel’s vision of restoration culminates with these words of tremendous promise: ‘The name of the city from that time on will be, “The LORD is there.” 

What is the ‘city’? Principally this is referring to the church. Jesus has promised to dwell in His church by the Spirit. For example, 

‘You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ (1 Peter 2:5) 

‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16) 

The amazing promise for His church is that ‘The Lord is there’ - He is with us. He is with each of us in our lives, and He is with us as we seek to worship and serve Him together. 

The river of God flowing from the temple is symbolic of His presence flowing into His peopleπ. As we saw in Monday’s study, 

'There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.’ (Psalms 46:4)

RESPONSE

Do we name the church ‘The Lord is there’?

Do we live our lives in faith and dependence that the Lord is in and with us?

How would this transform our expectation of meeting in our Community Groups and on a Sunday if we truly named this city – the church – ‘The Lord is there’?

2. COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY

BE LIFTED BY GOING TO THE SOURCE

Opener - Do you have any funny or scary stories involving water?

In terms of a river, if the source is polluted or damned, the health of the river is affected. When you deal with the source all that happens down-stream is touched. 

Discuss together

• Read Psalm 46:4
• What is the river of Psalm 46?
• What does the river do?
• How does the river make us glad? 
• The main idea of Sunday’s message was if you stop the source, you stop the flow. How can we hinder or promote the river (the Spirit’s work) in our lives? 
• Read John 7:37-39. How will you do this, this week? (Have people been memorizing, meditating and praying out of it as was encouraged on Sunday?) 
• Prayer and fasting – share your experience of last week’s week of prayer and fasting. Is there anything you’ve learnt or been inspired about that you’d like to share? 
• Pray and plan: We don’t have an official ‘Hospitality Week’ until September. However, How could you use your summer to really invest in your friends in and outside the church?

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LIFT. BLOG 4. 7/7/19

CONTENTS

1. Come to Jesus Daily devotional 

(And prayer guide for this, our week of prayer and fasting)

• Monday – Be lifted by listening and eating
• Tuesday –  Faith climbs
• Wednesday – Be lifted by obedient faith 
• Thursday – Be lifted through faithfulness 
• Friday – Be lifted through drinking

2. Community Group/Family Study

You can listen to the message at: Link for audio content

For more information visit: www.communitychurchputney.com

1. COME TO JESUS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

One of our goals as a church is to spend at least 20 minutes every day in prayer and worship out of the bible. I hope you find this devotional helpful toward that end. 

This week, this blog also serves as a guide for our week of prayer and fasting. 

This series, LIFT…

…is different to our usual practice for working through a book of the bible. I felt thought that, for this season, it would be refreshing to seek God for what He wants to say and to simply share that.

I trust that such an approach will help remind all of us to be prophetic - to listen to what God wants to say as a lifestyle. 

These daily studies, likewise, are from my, and other church member’s devotions. I will also include devotionals derived from the various contributions that you share, as a church, in various settings. 

Matt Beaney June 2019 

MONDAY – BE LIFTED BY LISTENING AND EATING

Ezekiel 2:8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.

God tells Ezekiel to do 2 things with the word that He speaks: Listen and eat. I was struck by these words. What does it mean to eat the words that God gives to us and am I doing it? (See also Jeremiah 15:16) 

To eat God’s words are to digest and do what they say. As James writes,  ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.’ James 1:22)

Too often we hear without the corresponding faith action that God desires of us. We are in a culture that’s in rebellion to God, but the church is often guilty of this also! Sometimes this is outright opposition and oppression of those who hold to biblical teaching; but, too often, the church is entertained and soothed but not moved to purity, devotion and love! 

LET’S PRAY IN RESPONSE

How will you pray in response to today’s meditation? Pray for your church, that we would be people who listen and eat rather than rebel against God’s word. 

Pray for the elders who teach the church. 

Pray for yourself. How do you eat God’s word each day? What is He speaking to you about at the moment? Pray for a greater devotion to listening and to obedience. 

Perhaps you would like to pray something like this, 

“May I eat what you give me. May I be softhearted towards your word. Soften my heart. Give me understanding that I may know your words, and a worshipful disposition that obeys what you say about all other voices”.

WEEK OF PRAYER AND FASTING

Running up to Encounter (this Saturday 13th) we are praying and fasting together as a church (see the end of this study for a guide on how to fast). 

Write down a list of things that you would like to pray for in particular through this week. (Also, it might be good to keep a daily journal of things that God speaks to you about as you pray). 

TUESDAY – FAITH CLIMBS 

Luke 5:18-19 Some men came carrying a paralysed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

Recently I was struck by a spiritual principle in this passage – the principle that action always accompanies true faith. These men had heard that Jesus was a healer and their faith is demonstrated by their radical efforts to get their needy friend to Jesus. 

1. True faith saves –  True faith believes and repents - it trusts in Jesus’ for salvation and follows Him as Lord. 

2. True faith acts – Having become a Christian by faith alone, we will only do acts of faith if we take Jesus as His word. James wrote,  ‘What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?…But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.’ (James 2:14-18)

How do we know what we believe? Well, according to James we ‘show our faith by our deeds’! 

LET’S PRAY IN RESPONSE

Our vision as a church is ‘Bringing people to Jesus’; Like today’s story, we desire to bring our non-believing friends to Jesus. 

The faith action that we can take in this regard takes two forms, for which we will pray now:

Firstly, bring your friends to Jesus in prayer - pray for your list of non-believing friends.

Secondly, Ask God for wisdom as to what you need to do to ‘invest’ in those friendships and then take faith action - climb the roof! 

WEDNESDAY – BE LIFTED BY OBEDIENT FAITH

INSPIRED BY A PROPHECY FROM JEM HOWE

The story of how the walls of Jericho fell is a great illustration of the strange ways that God often uses to bring about His victories. The walls of Jericho stand for the difficult things that God calls his church to do together. And this story teaches us many principles.

We are called to do hard things

‘Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.’ (Josh. 6:1)

The church is called to do difficult things together. Whether that’s building genuine community or reaching people with the gospel, nothing of great value is easy! 

Believe the promises of God

‘Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.’ (Josh. 6:2)

Each Christian, and the church that they are a part of, need to believe God’s promises. These promises are in scripture, but they are also given through prophetic words. These things need to be believed and acted upon. 

Do things God’s way

‘March around the city…’ (Josh 6:3-5)

Do things God’s way. God’s directions are not a strategic way to take a city! God’s directions in scripture on how to be saved, build church, how to live…need ‘obedient faith’. 

LET’S PRAY IN RESPONSE

Seek God as to how He wants you to exert ‘obedient faith’?

Pray for our upcoming gift days (14th, 21st July) Seek God for how much you will give, and pray for the church to give in faith. 

THURSDAY – BE LIFTED THROUGH FAITHFULNESS

BY BEN NOBLE

1 Chronicles 5: 24-25 These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.

These two short verses come in the middle of various long lists of genealogies of the tribes of Israel and as I was reading - it really jumped out at me. In the first verse - we hear about these ancient men who seemed to be really admirable. They were well respected and were "heads of their families". The writer wants us to know that they were good husbands and fathers. As I read this verse - my heart lept - I want to be like this - I want to be well thought of and a good husband and father. 

But then the next verse hits us: "They were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors”.  I felt God speak to me - What good would it do to be a good leader of my family yet fail to worship God? And furthermore, I won't be able to stand, be a good father and husband without putting God first. 

LET’S PRAY IN RESPONSE

Whatever your goals for life are - to be respected, to do your work well, to conquer sin, to be a good spouse, parent, son, daughter, friend - to do all these things you need to put God first. 

Let’s pray about our personal faithfulness to Jesus. Let’s pray, committing ourselves to being faithful to Him above all other things. 

Pray for your Community Group and leaders. That you, together, would inspire faithfulness (See Hebrews 10:24-25) 

FRIDAY – BE LIFTED THROUGH DRINKING

Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

If you are a Christian, you are thirsty for God; you desire His presence in your life; you desire to be with Him and to put Him first. So why do we fail to give ourselves to Him as He deserves, the Bible teaches, and, as the Spirit in us compels? 

What gets in our way of drinking? 

Bad habits. Our daily lives are formed around habits. If we fail to purposefully interrupt old and form new habits of devotional time, our lives will not change. 

Immature understanding. Its the spiritually mature that understand their weakness - they know their need for God’s strengthening through prayer. They also know that their prayers are powerful and effective to change things…The immature feel strong and that God will do His ‘stuff’ without the need for their praying. 

Medicating. Drinking from the wrong sources, such as entertainment, alcohol, relationships,… to replace time with God. 

Legalism. We often fail to live the devotional life because we are not drinking from the grace of God in Christ. This can rob those who feel guilty of confidence in God’s reception. But, more often, the gospel hasn’t captivated our hearts so that prayer and worship are the natural outworking of how greatly we are loved. 

LET’S PRAY IN RESPONSE

Pray for London. That the multitudes in this city would hear and respond to the invitation to come and drink from Jesus. 

Let’s pray for ourselves. May you and I have a greater thirst for God. A thirst that leads to loving prayer and worship. 

Pray for the nation through the new leadership and Brexit process. 

2. COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY

BE LIFTED BY LISTENING AND EATING

Introduction

This week we are praying and fasting together as a church. This will culminate in our Encounter evening, this Saturday at 7:30pm. 

So, this evening, let’s give a good amount of time to prayer. 

Discuss, briefly, together

Read Ezekiel 2:8. 

• What three two things is Ezekiel told to do with God’s word?
• How are you currently taking in God’s word?
• What has God been speaking to you about recently, and how is this helping you? (how are you ‘eating’ it?)

Pray together

Our vision is “Bringing people to Jesus”. 

Let’s pray together for the following which come out of our vision:

• Bringing myself to Jesus - Pray for one-another, and yourself, for a fresh faithfulness in your daily personal devotions. 
• Bringing one-another to Jesus - Pray for your Community Group. For growth in numbers, multiplication, love for one another, and anything else that you would like to pray about in regard to your group. 
• Bringing non-believers to Jesus – Get into pairs and pray through your list of non-believing friends. 
• Pray about anything else that God has been speaking to you about. 
• Pray for our nation at this time of leadership change and the Brexit process. 
• Please be praying and preparing for our gift days coming up

A NOTE ON FASTING

Why fast? Fasting is going without something in order to make time and help us to focus on spending time with God.

Some suggestions on how to fast:

• The traditional fast: You could go the whole or some of the week with only water. 
• Fasting certain foods: One could not eat certain foods (such as meat) so as to make more time for God.
• Entertainment: refraining from watching or listening to things. 
• Fasting social media: using the time you might usually use to engage in social media in order to engage in prayer. 
• Be wise: if healthy, I encourage you to stretch yourself- you can do more than you think! If you have health concerns, you should avoid fasting that’s related to food, but do fast in other ways. 
• Be accountable: It’s helpful to share what you are going to fast with others so that you can encourage one another in what is a very difficult thing to do. 

An extract from Richard Wagner, Christianity for Dummies.

Fasting

The focus of fasting should not be on the lack of food. 

Fasting from food can be done for a variety of purposes, either physical or spiritual. So abstaining from food alone doesn’t constitute a Christian fast. Instead, a Christian fast is accompanied by a special focus on prayer during the fast, often substituting the time you’d spend eating with prayer.

Fasting provides a real-life illustration of dependency. 

Although modern man thrives on the idea of being independent, beholden to no one, fasting helps you put the facts in the proper perspective. It’s easy to believe in your independence with a full stomach, but when you start to feel hunger pains in your belly after missing a meal or two, you awaken to your body’s dependency on food to survive. Fasting reveals a physical reliance on food that points to the ultimate dependency — the fact that you’re dependent on God for things far more important than food.

Fasting fosters concentration on God and his will. 

Oswald Chambers once said that fasting means “concentration,” because when you’re fasting, you have a heightened sense of attentiveness. Food or any physical sensation can satisfy, fill you up, and dull your senses and spiritual ears. In contrast, a hungry stomach makes you more aware and alert to what God is trying to say to you.

Fasting offers a way to impose self-control in your life.

It gives you a “splash in the face” to awaken you to the need for the personal strength of will that you need to grow spiritually. When you restrain yourself physically, you’ll find it easier to apply this same self-discipline in your spiritual life.

One last thing — everyone can participate. Not everyone may be able to fast from food (pregnant women and diabetics for example), but everyone can give up something in order to focus on God (e.g. unplugging the television for 24 hours could also be an effective way of joining the fast)!

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