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Glen Park Gospel Church >> Archive >> Editorial >> 1999
Each month the Glen Park Gospel Church produce a one page newsletter called the Green Leaf. It's available from the chapel each Sunday. Some months include a topical article or report. We thought you might appreciate reading those previously published.
Is 1999 the End of an Era?
Friday January 1st is the first day of the end of the year which closes a millennium as counted by our dates.
Of course there have been a few adjustments along the way. 1999 may not be the real end of an era, but it is probably as close as we can get for practical purposes.
Our era is dated from the birth of Christ. There have been a few adjustments to the counting systems. First, the person who started the counting, it seems, counted the first year as year 1, not year 0. Therefore the millennium does not end until the end of 2000. You might find this hard to understand until you remember that a new baby is not one year old until one year after birth. Twelve months after birth you turned 1. So should the dates. We are 12 months behind. Therefore year 2000 may not occur until 2001 in real terms.
Second, the earth takes exactly a year to go around the sun. However this is not 365¼ days. That's why we have leap years, a system instituted by Gaius Julius Caesar in 45BC. This Julian calendar however was about11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the earth's solar rotation, so the official calendar slowly got out of keeping with the seasons and the holy days. Pope Gregory XIII issued a decree dropping 10 days from the calendar. In 1752 England adopted the Gregorian system and that year only September 2nd was followed by September 14th a leap of 11 days. Even this is not accurate and small incremental adjustments are regularly made to our clocks.
All this assumes that Jesus was born December 25th 1BC. However we date this event from contemporary events, in particular the death of Herod the great which scholars tell us was in the year 4BC. As Jesus was born before Herod died his birth year was probably 5BC. Therefore if we take these adjustments into account year 2000 will not occur in 2001 but happened in 1996 or 1997 when we were not looking.
However this is not right either, because Pope Gregory only calculated his dates from the northern spring equinox of March 21 325AD, because it was the year of the Council of Nicea, an important year for the Catholic Church. But what about all the leap years before 325AD. Gaius Julius Caesar made his adjustments in 45BC which was year 408AUC, in the Roman calendar. (He was a Roman Emperor after all). What about all the missing leap years prior to this? Who says Jesus was born on December 25th? Who says that days and years should be harmonised? What's the point of all this?
The point is that Jesus came to die for us about 2000 years ago. He is going to come again. We don't know exactly when He will come again, but the signs that He gave indicate that it will be soon. Christians wonder about the significance of our new millennium in the calendar of heaven.
You can see from the information above, man has lost count of the years. Be sure of this God has not. Jesus came to earth the first time right on cue. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son..." Gal 4:4. When God is ready, He will send forth His Son again. He will come right on time.
There was a teaching a few years ago suggesting that God was working to a plan of seven thousand years for man on earth. It is possible to search the Old Testament for dating references and calculate with some precision that the number of years from the creation of Adam to the birth of Jesus is 4004 years. There has been about 2000 years from the birth of Jesus to the present day. The Bible says clearly that Jesus will reign on earth in the future for 1000 years, before then the end of the world comes. (Revelation 20.1-5). Assuming correct estimations, 4004+2000+1000+4=7000 years.
This adding of years is a concept, a theory based in Scripture statements, and is not succinctly stated. It has been dulled recently by the insistence of science that the world and the history of man is millions of years old, not thousands. We listen with interest to the claims of science, remembering that science is based on theories which are amended as knowledge increases. We also remember that God gave His word in times past and His word, not the theories of men, even religious men, is accurate.
Jesus taught that an age known as the ‘Times of the Gentiles' (Luke 21.24) would begin with the destruction of the temple and terminate in events climaxing in the return of Jesus. Are these about to begin, or have already begun, just as night fades into first light before that moment when the first sunbeam breaks the horizon.
Gethsemane
We turn once more to follow with the steps of Christ, now among the last he trod upon the earth.
The "hymn" with which the Paschal Supper had ended, had been sung, probably a portion of the Hallel (Ps. 115 to 118), the last discourses had been spoken, the last prayer, that of consecration had been offered.
Passing out by the gate north of the temple, we descend into a lonely part of the valley of black Kidron, at that season swelled into a winter torrent. Crossing it we turn somewhat to the left where the road leads to Olivet. Not many steps and we turn aside to the right and reach a small enclosed property, a garden in the Eastern sense where He would often resort for rest and quiet prayer.
As such it was known to Judas and thither he led the armed band having found the upper chamber no longer occupied by Jesus and his disciples.
Eight He left there. The other three, Peter, James and John He took a little further as though He needed the comfort and support of their presence. And now a cold broke over Him. Beneath a pallid moon, He told them of the sorrow of His soul and bade them tarry with Him and watch with Him. Only the first of the anguish of that hour did they see. Exhausted, irresistible sleep crept over them.
Alone Jesus faced the torment, this sorrow unto death. It was not fear of bodily or mental suffering: but Death. To fallen man Death is not by any means Death for he is born with the taste of it in his soul. Not so Christ. It was Unfallen Man, the last Adam, dying. It was He who had no experience of it, tasting death, not for Himself but for every man, emptying the cup of it's bitter dregs.
It was the Christ undergoing Death for man and by man, the incarnate God, the God-Man, vicariously submitting Himself to the deepest humiliation and paying the utmost penalty. His going into death was His final conflict for man and on his behalf. By submission to Death He disarmed the Devil and took away the power of Death. He disarmed Death by burying its shaft in his own heart. And beyond this lies the deep unutterable mystery of Christ bearing the penalty due to our sin, bearing our death, bearing the penalty of the broken Law, the accumulated guilt of humanity, and the holy wrath of the Righteous Judge upon them.
He ‘offered up prayers and supplications' we are told ‘and was heard' and now prostrate upon the ground, His sweat as great drops of blood, the mark of imminent death, falling to the ground. He addressed God, ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as you will.' This possibility was not a physical possibility, but a moral possibility, that of inward fitness, for with God all things are possible.
It was in this extreme agony of soul, an agony unto death that an angel appeared to strengthen and support Him, thus enabling Him to achieve the eternal objective of redemption. ‘He was heard.' Returning to His disciples he found them bound in deep sleep.
In view of this the deepest mystery, the heaviness of sleep seems to steel over the apprehension of mankind.
The Gamaliel Letter
By Joan Smith
Jerusalem
C.E 35.Dear Theophilus,
I am writing to you to explain a serious situation that has arisen in this great city. I will need to tell you the story of how it all came about.
Jerusalem was quiet that day. We had been studying the Talmud and had spent the afternoon discussing the Gemara, that series of commentaries on the oral Jewish law as set out in the Mishna. My students had asked more questions than usual and I was quite exhausted by the time my classes were finished for the day. They had asked why the Mishna held authority from God next to the sacred Scriptures and why was it that we spent more time studying them when it seemed to them that the word of God as spoken by the prophets would be of more value. I walked home, silently considering the implications of what they said. Surely the promises of God were important to us, His people, and we were not able to understand many of them. Perhaps they were right. Maybe we ought to be giving more time to the writings of the prophets.
My mind moved across just then to the amazing happenings of the last few years. They began by the appearance in Galilee of a man who went around teaching love and service to others. He had gathered twelve uneducated men round him (four of them were simple fishermen and one was a hated tax collector) and these men accompanied him on his long treks through the country.
These men claimed that he healed many people of incurable illnesses and even raised people from the dead. One of those was the daughter of a Roman consul, they said, and this man did not even need to leave Cana to go to where she was in Capernaum. He just spoke a word and this young girl recovered immediately at the very same hour when the word was spoken.
They said he performed miracles and even cured people with mental illness. I was doubtful of the veracity of their claims as it seemed as though this man was a megalomaniac and yet, it didn't all add up. Why did His teaching and philosophy make such good sense? They said he claimed to be the long awaited Messiah, the Son of God, and I had heard that claim with my own ears. If that was untrue then he was the greatest liar and deceiver ever born. But he went about doing good and serving people who were poor and needy. Why would he do that if he were evil?
When this man decided to come to Jerusalem with his followers,
I could smell trouble. It was Passover time when they came, a
special time of celebration on the calendar of our Jewish faith.
It is then that we remember our deliverance from Egypt after many
years of bitter slavery. We had been there for 400 years at the
time we left Egypt. God used Moses to lead us out from Pharoah
and take us through the wilderness to the land God had promised.
I learned of the High Priest's plans soon after. This man, Jesus, is a blasphemer they said. He claims to be the promised Messiah, the one we expected to rebel against the Romans and give us back our land. "We need to get rid of him soon," the High Priest said to the Council, "before the people believe him". But I knew there were already many who believed in him. As he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey that day, his followers said it was a fulfilled prophecy and many people welcomed him by throwing palm leaves on the road as he rode by. Caiphas, the High Priest, knew he had to be careful as the people could rebel and cause rioting in the streets. That would look bad for him in the eyes of the Roman authorities. But the evil deed had to be over before the Sabbath had begun so he sent soldiers to take this trouble maker secretly at night while he and his friends were resting in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a simple feat as one of his friends volunteered to identify him in the darkness for the price of a slave, a mere thirty shekels. His followers gave them some trouble but Jesus went quite willingly to the house of the High Priest where he was questioned. It seemed strange that he refused to answer questions and didn't try to justify himself. Then his friends proved fickle and deserted him, so we felt they could not be really convinced that he was the Messiah as he said he was.
Early the next morning he was taken from the dungeon where he had been confined and sent to Pilate, the Roman Governor, as the Jewish leaders had no authority to put him to death. There in the Judgment Hall he was maligned, stripped, lashed and cruelly treated. Pilate did not appear to believe he was guilty of any offence and hoped he could satisfy the Jewish leaders that their demands were being met by physical punishment. But no! The people were stirred up and wanted his blood. It was a quick decision at the end and finally he was condemned to death by crucifixion, the Roman method of capital punishment. The Jewry had to be quick because the Holy Sabbath was fast approaching and the death plot would have to completed by then according to Jewish law.
On that Friday when it all happened some peculiar signs made me wonder about this man's identity. Surely he could not have been the Messiah as he claimed to be! Everyone in Israel knew the Messiah would come but never to die. Rather he would be a victorious king. I wondered about the prophecy in Isaiah 53. Did that really refer to the Messiah? "As a lamb before his shearers is dumb, he opened not his mouth", I remembered, and "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities and by his stripes we are healed." I believed that passage referred to God's special servant. Was there any chance that Jesus was that one? Then there was the temple curtain that separated the common people from the Holy of Holies where the High Priest went only once a year. It was his duty to venture there into the presence of God after a great deal of preparation to make him fit for the holiness of God and it was there that he would make the annual sacrifice for the sins of the people. Although that curtain was made of tough heavy material, it tore that day from top to bottom. Who tore it? Why did it happen just at that very moment when the man they crucified dropped his head in death? Now it seemed as if the wall of division between the people and God has been broken down. I could find no answer to this phenomenon. It all seemed so eerie. Then there was the sudden darkness that descended over the whole city for the last three hours before his death. Even the Roman soldier who stood by was convinced that this man must be the Messiah - he even called him the Son of God.
But that was not the end of it. After this man's burial, there was an amazing rumour circulating in the city. His followers said that his body had disappeared from the heavily-guarded rock-sealed tomb where he had been laid after his death. Some believed they had stolen his body to make it appear that he kept his promise to rise from the grave. More than 500 people in the city claimed they had seen him alive after the third day. His followers said he had shown himself alive to many of them and had even cooked a fish breakfast for some of them after they had spent a night out fishing. Moreover, they said that they saw him go into heaven after his farewell message to them and that an angel told them he would come back again in the same way that they saw him go. What an outrageous thought if it were untrue! Many others believed he had risen from the dead because they said he had told them he would before his death although at the time they said they did not understand the truth of his promise.
Another queer thing happened in Jerusalem. A group of disciples of the Way (the movement started by Jesus' followers was known as the Way by this time) had been caught together in Solomon's Portico in the temple in an outright an act of defiance against the authorities. A few days before, the priests, captain of the temple and the Sadducees had two of the disciples placed in custody for teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead through Jesus. The next day, when the rulers, elders and scribes with the High Priest met together to discuss their future, they felt they were really up against a brick wall. When Peter and John were asked about how the reported miracles of healing were performed, they claimed that it was in the name of their resurrected Messiah and what is more, that there is salvation in no other than he! The authorities were shocked and furious but their hands were tied. The people could see the undisputable evidence before them, so they were warned and charged not to speak in that name of Jesus any more. One of them answered that they really could not help speaking of the things they had seen and heard. However, after another threat, they were released.
Now there they were again, obviously preaching, as many more believers had been added to the group and many more miracles had been recorded and witnessed by the people. It was preposterous! The temple managers threw them into prison intending to bring them to face the censure and sentence of the Council the next morning, but when they sent for them the next day they were not there. The chains that secured them were still in place, the prison doors were locked and the keepers were still guarding the gate! How did they escape? It was all a mystery! Later, they were found back in the temple preaching again!
"How did you get out of the prison?" they asked Peter.
"At night an angel came and released us," he told them.
The members of the Council met again later to discuss the problem.
"What must we do with them? We need to be careful because
they have won the confidence of so many of the people, they could
rise up against us and cause trouble in the city," we said
to one another. "But they must be stopped somehow,"
the others all agreed. "We need to have them put to death.
That seems the only way to stem the tide of this new sect."
"We told you, you were not to preach in that name,"
Peter was reminded, but as leader of the group, he had his answer
ready. "Our duty is to obey God rather than men," he
said fearlessly. The Councillors were enraged at that outright
disregard for authority and wanted to kill them on the spot. As
a Pharisee and a member of the Council, I tried to calm them down
and spoke my thoughts on the issue.
"If this ‘Way' is another of those false movements it
will fizzle out," I said carefully, "but on the other
hand, if it is a thing of God, you will not be able to overthrow
them and you may even find you are fighting against God. I suggest
that you let them alone and the situation will resolve itself."
They decided to take my advice, and after warning them again,
they whipped them and let them go.
One of my students, Saul, a graduate of the Jewish Law and a brilliant expositor of the Hebrew Talmud, heard of the conversion of 3,000 people at Pentecost, fifty days after these events, and he was enraged. He was a Jew of Jews, a Pharisee of the highest conviction, a promoter and protector of the ancient Jewish faith. "Nothing like this new crack-pot following should be allowed to spread," he said. He made up his mind to squash it once and for all. With chosen men to assist him, he began breaking into the homes of those who professed this new Way, arresting them, and throwing them into prison. Men, women and children, no-one was exempt. I believed that would be the beginning of the end of this whole movement.
I remembered this same man on the day Stephen was stoned to death. Saul was standing by minding the coats of those who were stoning Stephen, condemned for his faith in the so-called resurrected Messiah, and I remember the uncanny light that emanated from his countenance as he faced his accusers. He was heard to utter words of forgiveness as he died. I found this hard to understand. Why was there no sign of malice on his lips for those who were condemning him? There were certainly strange things happening in these days.
A few weeks later the unthinkable happened. My colleague, an ex-student was so emotionally charged with zeal for the Law that he spread his persecution efforts to Damascus where many of the followers of the Way had gone to escape the horrors of the Jerusalem round-up. He had papers from us giving him authority to do as he wished with those of this sect. Imagine the horror and disbelief when the Council heard that Saul had reached Damascus, not as an avenger and cleanser, but as a convert to the Way! How could he? It was said that he was led up to Damascus by the hand, blinded after being confronted by a bright light and a word of censure by a heavenly voice.
I am standing here tonight confronted by the complete turn-around in an intelligent man who was fiercely antagonistic to the message of a crucified and resurrected Messiah. I am beginning to see the need to study these new ideas and discover more about fulfillment of prophecy as claimed by these followers of this new faith. I have many questions. Why did the angel release those prisoners? Why was an angel sent to tell the followers of Jesus that he had risen as was claimed? Why do they say that as he ascended into heaven it was an angel who told them he would return one day in just the same way? It is also said that his young mother was told by an angel that she would give birth to Jesus and some shepherds even claimed that angels told them that the promised one had been born in Bethlehem.
I believe in angels. Our Jewish faith tells us that Jehovah uses angels. Throughout the Law of Moses we read that they appeared to men with special messages from God. The very word means "messenger". Maybe my advice to the Council is now being fulfilled. I really believed that this new faith would fizzle out if it were erroneous and I am beginning to recognise that God may be trying to get a message across to me. As I look out over the Holy City on this day and ponder these questions, I see its white buildings outlined against the azure sky, and I can feel a new peace seeping into my soul. My heart is confirming within me an irresistible assurance that this new peace is more than the peace of the surrounding countryside and that I myself am facing a life-changing experience.
These strange events in our great city have surely turned the whole nation upside-down and I feel that they demand a verdict. I wanted you, my friend , to know the facts from one who has personally witnessed many of them.
Shalom, and may God be praised.
Yours sincerely,
Gamaliel,
Member of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin.
Surplus Economics
"And the leaders of the children of Israel saw that they were in a bind, after they were told, ‘You shall not reduce anything from your daily quota of bricks'." Exodus 5:19
The story is that Moses had demanded Pharaoh give his people time to make a sacrifice celebration to the Lord. Pharaoh instead made their labour even harder. He reasoned that if his slaves had time for recreational pursuits, then they did not have enough work. So he required them to find their own materials as well as maintain their regular production quotas.
Consider what has happened to the industrialised world during the last decade. Machines have taken over the tasks of men. Machines do not complain, can work twenty four hours a day, never form trade unions and do not strike for better pay or conditions. Many have lost out not only to the machine, but also to the rough and tumble of the competitive market. Australia's largest companies no longer compete with one another, but with world supply and demand as the communications revolution continues, and have found themselves reduced to being but niche traders.
Like Israel in Egypt, people who enjoy paid employment today, work much harder for what they get. A recently study indicated that many smaller businesses successfully increased their output, not only due to machines, but rather the efforts of their employees.
Such pressure strains the resources and resilience of the worker. As the demands of family living increase, parents have less time to invest in the welfare of their children, less time for one another and an increasing need for personal space. Something has to crash. Life demands a surplus, a margin between its demand and supply.
Surplus is intrinsic to creation's rhythm. Animals need to rest, the heart pauses between each beat. Day has it's night but also twilight. The tide flow has it's make, its ebb but also its turn when the stream is still. Winter regenerates in spring; summer recuperates through autumn.
Surplus is inalienable in Scripture. Creation was revealed to Adam in six days, the seventh a day of rest, a principle enshrined in our seven day calendar. But Scripture also provides ancient Israel with six feast holidays throughout the year. Additionally, every seventh year was a sabbatical when they ate the surplus and the field was allowed to rest. Then in the added sabbatical jubilee year (7x7+1) all debt was annulled. The Levites were to carry the burden of their work from maturity at twenty five until they were fifty and then the next generation took over. The soldier who married had automatic leave for a full year for adjustment. The concept of surplus enables the fruit of labour to be enjoyed; the stability of life to be retained.
How can these things be? In creation God has provided His surplus. Wealth is generated by God through the processes of creation, re-creation and procreation. Wealth creation comes to industrious man through his endeavour through surplus. There is enough and to spare. Wealth as commodity or goods can be exchanged, bartered or preserved for use in a time of need. The harvest is stored in the pantry to be eaten throughout the year, or stored through agreed symbols of value called money. The simple reading of Scripture shows that God intends all people to not only enjoy the fruit of their labours, but also the blessing of His surplus.
However one person can steal the wealth or surplus of another. Ned Kelly discovered this. Robin Hood had a different motive, but the same method. The tax man is another kind of Robbing Hood redistributing wealth. But so is inflation, the compulsory union due, the unscrupulous salesman, fashion change, keeping up with the Joneses, designed obsolescence and worthless investments to name a few. Gambling in any form, sex industries and the drug culture have a massive cost to society. The heaven that is over us turns to brass and the earth beneath our feet becomes iron.
The Lord warned His ancient people that if they forsook Him and the principles of His Word, He would smite them with consumptive disease, with a fever, an inflammation, with intense burning, and with the sword, with blight, and mildew which would pursue them to the death* Our world also has it's blight and its's mould.
The Bible is not a restriction to our freedoms, but a manufacturer's handbook showing how true freedoms are achieved. The Christian way of life is a blessing to any people, and those who turn their back on God as the English speaking peoples, including Australia, have done over recent generations will find that the enjoyment of Gods's manna has melted with the dew.
*Deuteronomy 28:22
Missing Out on Entering In
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Hebrews 4:1
‘Fear' is from the word which we know as ‘phobia' We associate it with neurosis, an unreasonable, unrelenting fear of some condition, such as, heights, spiders, or being underground. Fear, however, is a useful emotion which keeps us from danger, such as straying onto a busy road, or from burning ourselves on a flame. Fear is part of our commonsense response to life created for our well being.
The promise is a default announcement which invites, but does not demand our response. The provision has been made, but it is up to us to react reasonably to the terms and conditions of the offer.
The promise, in this instance, that of ‘entering into His rest' suggests the pedestrian stepping into a Safety Zone in the centre of a busy city street. The word for ‘rest' has the thought of bringing to rest, as when Jesus in the boat stilled the storm. The promised rest is shown in verse ten, to be that of my ceasing from my own works.
I am not able to live the Christian life; there is only one person able to do that, and that person is Jesus Christ. Thus we step into Christ where His presence makes our tension cease. The rest Jesus offers brings peace amidst our problems, tranquillity instead of turmoil, strength to meet our stress.
This is not an invitation to be inactive, or passive in our Christian life and service; we are warned to be careful to live in the energy of the One who is able to handle all situations, thus allowing us to rest in the sure knowledge of His ability.
To come short, is to be in want. If we lack the means, we have to go without. I am hungry and I reach into my pocket for some money to meet my need, only to find that I am a dollar short because I forgot to go to the bank to draw enough funds to see me through. So, I have to miss out and go hungry. How terrible to be so hungry when I have enough money locked away in the bank. As we are in Jesus Christ and He is in us, and He is heir of all things we should never be in want. Why should a Christian come short of God's grace when God's grace comes in such boundless supply. We cannot overdraw the bank of heaven. We can only miss out on God's grace in any situation because we fail to enter in.
"And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, except Jesus only." Matthew 17:8
A condensed story told by Bruce Rowe of United Aborigines Mission, Speaker at the morning service, Sunday 27th May 1999.
Bush Eyes
I would like to tell you of an incident that happened to me some years ago.
Some Aboriginal friends of mine asked if I would like to go with them on a hunting trip. I said I would. There were about five of us and we went out into the bush. Now the bush up there is a bit different to the bush down here. There was heat and dust and flies and flies and flies and a few mulga trees.
So we went out to do a bit of hunting. They gave me the honour of doing the shooting. We went out in single file and I with the rifle was in the rear. We walked and walked and walked.
Then we came to a group of mulga trees and everyone stopped dead. The word came back; an emu. "Where?" The leader pointed down, which means that the game is close at hand. Suddenly all the men dropped to the ground. They didn't want to get shot.
I looked and looked with these eyes and - no emu. I know what an emu looks like, but - no emu. I looked everywhere, but I just couldn't see this emu. After a while the aborigines got sick of waiting. They were mumbling about this white man who had wasted the opportunity. He has no bush eyes.
So when we came back I looked by one of the older men, one of the elders of the tribe. I had to sit down on the ground like him. I asked him why I couldn't see this bird out there. He said, "You white fellas all the same. You come up from the city and think you know it all. This is what you do. When you look out there you move your head from side to side like this. It's all about taking in the whole picture." Keeping his gaze ahead he moved his head across his shoulders.
A little later the aborigines decided to go hunting again and I was asked if I would like to go with them. Again they gave me the rifle and we were out with the mulga trees and the flies and the dust. I decided to try and remember what the old fellow had said, and move my head from side to side like the aborigines and the native animals do.
The leader indicated a turkey close at hand and down they went. I stared into the bush ahead - no turkey. I was beginning to get embarrassed. I moved my head from side to side as best I could and suddenly it came into focus. I had found my bush eyes. I was amazed; how moving my head from side to side allowed me to see in the bush. We had turkey for dinner.
We need to develop eyes that can see what is not obvious in all that is so familiar. This is true in life generally, but especially so in the things of God.
"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been clearly set forth, crucified among you?" Galatians 3:1
So Simple, So Sublime, So Secure
"He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life." 1 John 5:12
So Simple
These words,
written over 1900 years ago are so simple that a young child can
understand them. Not one has more than four letters. Not one has
more than one syllable. Ask a child of ten what they mean and
they will be able to tell you what they say. Read them again and
let their simple message speak its own meaning. Ask "Do I
have the Son of God? Do I have life?"
So Sublime
This simple
verse is also sublime. It deals with the most profound of life's
questions. The very meaning of existence and the acquisition of
eternal life for mortal beings. Mortal means ‘liable to death'.
Because we are human we are mortal. Because we are created in
the image of the eternal God we are conscious of eternity. Mortality
and eternity consciousness creates a conflict within us which
cries out for resolution. These words do that for us. They tell
us of the source of life. It is in the Son, the Son of God. They
also tell us that there is no eternal life anywhere else. Ask
yourself, "Have I come to the source of life or am I trying
to reconcile my insecurity in the wrong place?"
So Secure
We then
are able to face our mortality knowing that the question of our
eternity has been answered. The Son of God is Jesus who was crucified
as an offering for the sins of those who accept Him. By this our
accounts with God are settled. He was then raised to life again
to live in those He has redeemed. The life of the Son of God in
us ensures us of His power here and His presence in eternity.
Ask yourself, "Am I willing to accept the Son of God to be
in me in eternal life?"
If the answer to that question is "yes", then we invite you to e-mail us so that we may answer your questions and help you enjoy what that new life has to offer.
Our Seventy Fifth Year
A Time to Remember
"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago." Psalm 77:11
This month we will remember how God has led us and blessed us over the years. Seventy five years is a life time, the allotted three score and ten, and a few more. In this time three generations have come and three generations gone. Of those who attended the first Sunday School held by Sarah Grover under the gum tree, many, like the Grovers themselves, have gone to their reward.
It is good to pause now and then to recount the way that God has led his people. This anniversary is one such time.
There is much that He has accomplished through Glen Park Gospel Mission. Many lives have been touched. Many people have found faith in God. Many have been challenged to serve Him in full time Christian service. Only the annuls of Heaven will reveal just how much has been done in needy hearts by past members of this little Church.
Those of us who continue in the work of Glen Park Gospel Mission stand in the legacy of the tradition that has been left. We live in a day of rapid change. (Note that our name has changed from Mission to Church.) Whilst some change is necessary in a fast changing world, there is also a great need of stability.
Never before was there so great a need of the sense of the never changing God. His word has not changed. The deepest need of the human heart has not changed. There is a need of a sense of stability in the turmoil of today. God's answer to human need through Christ Jesus has not changed. In the storms of life there is an anchor. We remember the past with thankful hearts for God's ongoing faithfulness.
The psalmist was doing this in his song. If God led and blessed His people in the past and He is God, then we reason that He will lead and bless His people in the future. Whilst the tried and tested values are the same, our paths will be through new territory. New technology ensures that. No two life times are the same. Yet God is the same. He who has blessed us in the past will continue to bless us in the future as we steadfastly continue our trust in Him.
Therefore it is good for us to take time to celebrate our past. We do it with a sense of humility, a song of rejoicing and a spirit of confidence.
To those who have come to join us on our special anniversary,
many of you have had a part in our past; we welcome you and trust
that you have been encouraged with us in the faithfulness of our
Lord. Please remember us in your prayers.
Any Old Star Will Do !
Lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. Matthew 2:9
The Star of Bethlehem was probably a nova, the same real star that Chinese astronomers recorded as shining with unusual intensity in the east for 70 days in the year 5BC says Dr Mark Kidger, a British astronomer in his book, The Star of Bethlehem, an Astronomer's View. The Chinese have recorded a nova on the border between Capricornus and Aquila.
He says that the event would have been of particular significance to the Magi (a name which means ‘astrologer') because there also occurred the triple conjunction of Jupiter with Saturn at that time. The appearance of the nova in March of 5BC would have been the prophetic event for which the Magi were waiting.
Dr. Kidger's idea has the support of Dr. Robert Massey, an astronomer of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, "This is a very neat idea, and I like it. It certainly deserves to be researched further."
The traditional view amongst astronomers is that the Star of Bethlehem was either a comet or the planet Venus because of their brightness and the fact that they move about the heavens. The star of Bethlehem moved before the Magi until it led them to the stable where the infant Jesus lay. Stars do not normally move. A nova is a star which is faint and then flares up so that it can be seen easily for a short period with the naked eye.*
However, what if these astronomers were wrong in their guess, and the star of Bethlehem were neither the nova of Dr. Kidger, nor Venus nor Halley's Comet? What if it were another star altogether? It would not matter much! God has billions of billions of stars from which to choose. Scientists report that there are more stars in the heavens than there are grains of sand on every sea shore in the world. He only had to choose one. Identifying a star is not all that important to us because He has already done so. Any old star will do!
Nearly three thousand years ago Isaiah urged the people of his day to "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these, that brings out their host by number: he [the Lord] called them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one fails." Isaiah tells that the Lord knows all these heavenly bodies by name. It is no problem to Him. Any old star will do, but there is nothing haphazard with God.
This is also an allegory about our lives. For God who chose an unknown star has also chosen an unknown people to be His people. For ye see your calling, brethren, that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]." And He tells us why this is so, The "base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
Do you feel insignificant? Do you consider yourself to be unimportant? Then be encouraged; for God has a way of taking those who are but small and turning them into a nova. The smallest, faintest of His saints can shine for Him. After all, the real star of Bethlehem was not the nova, but Jesus Himself. The nova in the heavens shined brightly for a few days as a pointer to the One who is the ‘Light of the World'
This too is our task; to shine for Jesus and point others to Him. Be encouraged. For this important task, any old star will do!
* Data as reported in 'The Age' News, Nov. 8 1999, p3
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