REFORMED CHURCH, BELLVILLE: SUNDAY 5
MAY 2002: MORNING SERVICE
Our help is in the Name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
AMEN.
Psalm of praise: 107:1,21.
Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all the worlds; God of God, Light of
Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance
with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made
man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered
and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the
Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of
the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living
and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life;
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the
Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I
acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the
resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN
The Law : Ex. 20:1-17
Psalm 40:4.
Prayer
Baptism: Eduard Klüsman
Hymn: 14:1,2
Psalm 92:7.
Scripture reading: Isaiah 52:13
- 53:6 and John 15:1-7
Text: John 15:7
"If
you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and
it will be done for you."
There is a very tender relationship between the Lord Jesus and true
believers. It is a relationship in which He reigns over us and comforts
us and provides the knowledge we need to be able to do what He expects
of us.
This communion between us and Jesus Christ is an interactive
relationship.
- He teaches us, but expects us to apply this knowledge.
- The Holy Spirit guides us, but He expects us to distinguish
between right and wrong, and that we will do what is right.
- He expects us to have insight into situations so that we can
interpret and control what happens.
You may perhaps think that this is asking too much of us, but then you
must remember what the Lord teaches us here:
- If we abide in Him, His words (He) will abide in us.
- The presence of the Lord Jesus is therefore eternal and intimate.
- We must never underestimate the power of this presence. The
presence and the promises of the Lord Jesus are a comfort to our soul.
Because the relationship between ourselves and the Lord is not a
passive one, we must invest a great deal of energy in making the most
of the grace of the Lord, because the Lord does not take kindly to any
disdain or neglect of His grace and His love for us.
The history of the Jews in the time of the prophet Isaiah provide a
good example of this:
- The people's trust in the Lord weakened because they became more
liberal and adopted belief in other gods as well as the Lord.
- They began worshipping various gods which were objects of worship
among the nations around them. The Lord was angered by this and lost
His patience with them.
- He instructed His prophets, amongst others Isaiah, to inform
the people that He intended to destroy them.
- But we must remember that there were, among all these people, a
fairly large number who retained their belief in the Lord and
worshipped Him in righteousness.
- To them the Lord preached grace. He would restore them to their
land.
This prophecy of restoration and of return to their land was one which
preached two things simultaneously.
- On the one hand, it told the Jews that they would return to
Canaan when their punishment was ended.
- But it also revealed especially that the Lord would, at some
future time in history, restore the people of His church in their
relationship with Him.
How would this come about? Through the Messiah. The Messiah is the
Christ. In Isaiah 53 He is depicted as Servant of the Lord. He is
described as the Servant of the Lord because He must, in accordance
with God's command, implement the Lord's redemptive plan.
- That is why it was prophesied that He would have the appearance
of a slave.
- Because of His appearance, He would be unacceptable to men.
- He would have no status among men, and He would be despised by
all.
- The people would not accept Him as the Redeemer.
The question is: Why not?
- Because He was to appear in the condition into which sin had
transformed mankind, in order to elevate them above it. That was
unacceptable to them.
- In this revelation of the Servant of the Lord the state of the
people to be redeemed is described:
- They are diseased, stricken with sin.
- "Disease" in this instance does not refer primarily to any
illness such as a cold or even cancer. It refers to the total state of
mankind - physically as well as spiritually.
- For that reason the Servant of the Lord was acquainted with
grief/sickness. He Himself was not ill, but He knew just how those
were affected who had fallen into such a state.
- God desires the restoration of health. He does not wish us to
remain in a state of grievous suffering as a result of sin.
- For that reason He sent His Servant to deliver His people from
this state of sin.
- For that purpose He allowed Him to be scourged and oppressed
(Isaiah 53:4,5,7).
Our illnesses and griefs are things we deserved. After the Fall, the
Lord told Adam: Cursed is the ground/earth because of you! See also
Romans 8:19-22.
- In part, this curse was also visited upon us in our illnesses and
spiritual affliction. All this, Jesus took upon Himself.
- The illnesses of which the Lord speaks here are, in the first
place, the disruption of man's original state in which we find
ourselves as a result of our sins. Therefore this includes bodily
illnesses.
That is why the New Testament also refers to Isaiah 53 (Matt. 8:16,17).
After Jesus had healed Peter's mother-in-law, a number of persons
possessed by demons were brought to Him. Jesus cast out the demons and
healed all who were ill.
- Matthew writes, in connection with this, that it happened so that
Isaiah's prophecy should be fulfilled that the Messiah bore our griefs
and carried our sorrows.
- Isaiah prophesied that we would know God's peace. Does "peace"
mean that there will be no more illness, or that all illnesses will be
healed through the power of prayer? No. Peace means that we will be
restored to a living relationship with God. All the fears and anxieties
which we generally experience are removed because the redemptive
omnipotence of the Messiah reigns over everything.
Why did the people not immediately recognize Jesus as the Messiah who
had been sent by God when He healed the sick and cast out demons?
- Those people had just as slight an understanding of their state
of sinfulness as we do.
- That is why Isaiah uses the word "we" in depicting the rejection
of Jesus.
- We are included because we are just like those believers.
- We have no understanding of our own state, therefore "we"
regard Jesus as One stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.
This suffering was brought upon Jesus as punishment for our sins. He
was put to death with violence. Violence fits in with illness and
afflictions. By contrast, we have through Christ the antipole: peace
for us.
Where did it all begin?
- When we overstepped the bounds laid down in God's law. The
transgression burdened us with debt and punishment. The punishment
includes, amongst others, the curse which God laid upon all the earth.
- The suffering of Jesus also and in particular revealed that the
Lord would, at some time in the future, restore the people of His
church to a perfect relationship with Him.
- His resurrection revealed that we would all arise like Him to a
new and eternal life.
We can only attain this peace if we do so through the punishment borne
by Jesus, because His punishment removed the factor causing the
conflict. We can now enter upon a life of love and peace with God.
This links up with what the Lord Jesus meant in His sermon to the
disciples that night when He said that we will bear much fruit if we
abide in Him (John 15:5).
- It is not difficult to understand what the Lord says: Everything
in the Bible, which we have read or studied or heard in a sermon, will
remain with us, and when we need it, the Holy Spirit will remind us of
it.
- In discussions dealing with matters of principle, the Holy Spirit
will enable us to remember things stated in the Bible, so that we can
put forward our views in accordance with those principles and in this
way present our testimony - and also act in this way. We will always
experience the protection of the Triune God.
- It also means that we will be reminded of our faith. Thus Christ
abides in us, because communion with Christ in faith is communion in
faith with His Word (cf. John 5:38; 8:31; 1 John 2:14, 24; 2 John 2:9).
In verse 16 the Lord refers to fruit we must bear and which must
remain. Of course, here the Lord refers to the parable of the vine. It
is clear that He is here referring to faith and sanctification.
You
did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go
and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you
ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. (John 15:16)
This verse reaches much further than just the fruit borne in my own
life; it teaches also that the message concerning the Lord Jesus which
I am to spread abroad must bear abiding fruit among those to whom I
proclaim it.
Come, let us put this in practical terms: This verse means that we must
become completely conversant with the will of Christ.
- We know what the will of God is. It then happens naturally that
we will live a life of worship which by its very nature will be in
accordance with the will of the Lord.
- For that reason the second part of the statement is not
unexpected: so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, you will
receive.
What does the Lord mean by the statement that we may ask whatever we
want? Does He mean things like money, or a house, or something like
that? No. In this passage we are concerned with the growth of faith.
The words used by the Lord are that we will abide in Him and bear much
fruit.
- It states that our lives must be in accordance with the demands
of the Lord;
- that we must love the Lord sincerely and show Him this also in
our worship.
- It concerns matters such as our handling of the Bible and our
prayer-life.
- It concerns matters such as our testimony before God and the
people among whom we live.
Stated briefly: My entire life must be directed, to the finest detail,
towards service and the glorification of the Lord (His fruit must abide
in me! - verse 16).
The words "whatever you ask of the Father" are
then quite in accordance with "what God wants"
to enable the redemption on the cross to be manifested more clearly in
me.
- The permanent characteristics of being at one with the will of
God must (and will) be in us if we abide in the Lord.
- But if someone does not wholly fulfil the requirements of this
relationship, the Lord Himself will end it. (Verse 6).
We are now preparing for the Lord to strengthen us again at the
commemoration of the Last Supper.
- On that occasion He will reaffirm the restoration of which Isaiah
prophesied.
- He will again reassure us that we are in Him and that we have
received all the spiritual gifts of our redemption.
May the Holy Spirit now so guide us that we may think deeply about
these matters, and that we may daily lead lives of repentance.
There will be occasions on which we experience problems, or where we
may find it difficult to overcome sin. But concerning that the Lord
Jesus says that we have only to ask. He will provide the necessary
support to enable us to survive to the next victory.
AMEN.
Closing prayer.
Closing Psalm: 148:3.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
AMEN.
Rev. Dr. M.J. du Plessis
Reformed Church, Bellville.
5 May 2002.
Scripture quoted from NASB.