WORD OF LIFE No. 17 – 2009
TEXT - John 20:29
"Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed
are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
We see Jesus Christ confirming that it is only by faith that we can be blessed. Faith is a small word with such a profound meaning , especially in our period of time in which we live. The word faith, except on two occasions, is only found in the New Testaments which shows clearly it is for our time. Apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews to explain to them what this should mean to us. Heb. 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Although the word is not used in the Old Testament, we can read of so many acts of faith displayed by the believers of those times. Many are listed in Heb. chapter 12 and give us inspiration today as we read of them. The faith that our Lord spoke to Thomas about was the faith in Him that He was the Christ, born into the world, lived his life sinless, fulfilled the law, died for our sins, arose from the grave, ascended to become our High Priest for ever, as all power, both in heaven and on earth is given to Him. In short, the only way we can have access to God and His blessings both in this life and after in this period of time, is to accept Him and worship in spirit and in truth. Because we do not see Him, this requires the faith that He spoke to Thomas. "Blessed are they that
have not seen, and yet have believed.” It is always much easier to worship something that can be seen. One of our brothers who recently visited rural China, told of an experience that shows God's wisdom. China of course, has opened it's doors to the world and is being campaigned by all the various faiths of the world. Those who can place something before the people to see, of course make it easier for them to follow. Our brother was approached by a young boy who asked him the question - "Are you a Christian"? - "Yes" replied our brother "Are you"? The boy replied he was and then went on to explain that many of his friends made fun of him for believing in something he could not see and were always asking him to show them his God. He then told our brother that he explains to them - None of us can see the air around us, but that does not mean we should stop breathing and likewise, just because we cannot see God around us at all times, that does not mean we should stop believing". What a wonderful modern day explanation of faith! We know that we begin with faith and the bible teaches us that we then add to it, all our other aspirations, hope, charity, works, patience, virtue, godliness, love, steadfastness, gentleness, strength etc., and above all, we must move on from faith to absolute Trust in our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul taught further to the Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
APOSTLE CLIFFFLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND
TEXT - Matthew 20:1-16.
"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And said unto them: go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come,the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house. Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen."
The last verse of our textword makes clear that once again the subject of our Word of Life for today is our heavenly calling. Many be called, but few chosen. The meaning of being called is only fulfilled if in the end we are also chosen.
When Jesus gave us this parable about how all the labourers in the vineyard received the same reward, He was trying to tell us that we are the labourers in His vineyard (this world) and the same reward is offered to all of us, whether we have laboured many years or are but newcomers when the time of reckoning comes. We shall all be paid the same. What shall those wages be? To be partakers on the First Resurrection! To be numbered to the Royal Priesthood, to be numbered to the Bride of Christ or to be a Firstling. All these are the same. Can one be half a partaker on the First Resurrection? Can one be half a Royal Priest? or so on? The reward for being numbered to the overcomers cannot be reduced nor divided.
Why did the first become the last and the last become the first? Only because those who had been first became envious and started to grumble to the good man of the house, because their reward was not greater than those who had come last into the vineyard. Looking at this situation in the spiritual sense, how was it possible for the reward of those who came first to be greater than those who came last? It was an impossibility. This is the message that Jesus is striving to convey to us in His parable.
It is not necessary for the first to be last. This only happens when those who were first permit their faith to decline and envy to raise its ugly head, or other ungodly characteristics to manifest themselves. It is up to all of us, who have already been faithful in our Church for many years, to keep the faith and continue to be faithful. None of us can afford to rest on our Laurels. As those called to become members of the Bride of Christ we must all remain in the first love. Just like it is when a couple first fall in love with each other. Both appear perfect in each other's sight, and the thought of each fills the heart and soul of the other. This is how our love and enthusiasm for our Lord must be. If we feel like that we shall not be late for Divine Service lest we should feel ourselves as numbered to the foolish virgins. We shall not be found amongst the grumblers and murmurers lest we should feel ourselves numbered to those who were first but should become last.
A spiritually healthy child of God is filled with the joy of the Lord and for such a soul the greatest happiness in this life is the privilege of labouring in the Vineyard of our Lord.
APOSTLE BILL ERRY (Since Retired)
INDIA
TTEXT - Psalm 34:10.
"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."
We see a great promise to those that seek the Lord. In our natural life we see so many seekers, and especially on the roads in our part of the land at this present time of the year, we see many caravans, some old, some new with southern state number plates, all heading north for the winter. We jokingly say they are chasing the sun and if we talk to the occupants they readily agree, for they see this as a better way of life. As Christians we journey through life, and we too, should also be chasing the sun. The sun we should chase is spoken of in Malachi 4:2 "But unto to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” We see then by this sun we should pursue or seek righteousness and peace. This righteousness and peace can only be found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text tells us that if we seek this sun, we shall not want any good thing, and so it is. Our Lord confirmed this to us when He taught about prayer in Matthew 6:8 "Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” The Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:8-12 told us how by our lives as we journey along, we can show that we are seeking the right things. "Finally be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are there unto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
If we seek the Lord and His righteousness, we will find that like the travellers, both old and young, chasing the sun, that it will be a better life, a life we can love, a life where we will see only good days, and be not wanting for any good thing.
APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND
TEXT - Luke 19:1-10
"And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him,and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, this day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Zacchaeus had the high position of superintendent of taxes. He received all the monies from the deputies and paid them to the Roman civil servants. That this didn't always go too honestly, is abundantly clear from the story. Zacchaeus must have already known about Jesus and His teaching, because he was keen on salvation. When Jesus was in the neighbourhood, Zacchaeus wanted to see Him. Being a little man, he climbed a mulberry tree. That must have caused a laugh from the crowd. This hated, very rich, small sized superintendent of taxation, climbing a tree! But his desire to get to see the Lord, was strong. Zacchaeus overcomes the burdens and he succeeds in seeing Jesus. But not only does Zacchaeus see the Lord, but also Jesus noticed Zacchaeus. And it is not merely a visual contact. Jesus feels that, that one in the mulberry tree is not just an open-mouthed onlooker as so many in the crowd would have been. Jesus has to be at Zacchaeus's place. Because it concerns here, someone who actually is a counterpart in Jesus' mission. Zacchaeus is conscious of his failures and wants salvation. He breaks with his sinful past and does rather too much, than too little. No, here Jesus cannot just pass by. For such a state of mind he has a special "antenna". What happens is the same as at the meeting with the sick woman, who, to get healed, touched the seam of Jesus' robe, and He became aware of it. Not aware merely by the external touch from behind, but inwardly. He was moved by the faith of the sufferer. (Luke 8:43-48) Let us also ponder upon the story of the treasurer from Ethiopia and the Evangelist Philip (Acts 8:26-36). The treasurer was on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah. What commendable, but demanding piece of travel literature! Assumably that literature was of interest to him. "Interest" means seeking, knocking and asking. (Matt. 7:7) "Interest" sets off some response, if not co-response at a certain 'wavelength'. The spirit brought about a meeting with the Evangelist, an ardent worker for the Lord, Philip. Philip, so to speak, was on the same 'wavelength'. In the end, the treasurer was baptised. Cause and effect! "Whosoever asks for bread shall not be given a stone (Matt. 7:9-11). Like seeks like! It all began with the man in the carriage being an interested treasurer (chancellor). Jesus does not pass by, our desire for salvation. In faith, looking inwardly to Jesus, gives peace; even if our eyes cannot see Him and our hands cannot touch Him physically. Meetings of this kind are wonders worked by God, and they confirm that the Lord goes among us. But we have understood well: there must be an inclination to the Lord. Our hearts must be "shattered", remorseful, humble, seeking, knocking, asking, and interested. How it is not allowed to be (must not be) is told by Jesus in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican.
Late APOSTLE ERWIN KINDLER
SWITZERLAND
TEXT – Song of Solomon 4:1-7
“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair: thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee."
We see in those writings that Solomon saw a vision of the Bride of Christ. He firstly said that thou art fair, my love, so we see that firstly God loves us and we have to become fair. When a bride is chosen she
goes to a great amount of trouble to prepare herself for the wedding day, to make herself look the best she
has ever looked, so we see that we have to also make an effort. Solomon saw the eye and they were as doves' eyes. Doves are a peaceful bird. Doves do not make a lot of noise. Doves quietly fly around and they are always at peace with the world, so we see that we have to develop "this peace". It is not the peace of man, but the Peace of God that Christ left for us. Peace between ourselves and God through Jesus Christ, reconciled to God, happy to be his sons and his daughters.
He then told us that the teeth must be like a flock of sheep. He was purposely shown the sheep as an example because sheep have to go together in a flock. They have to have a leader, a shepherd. They have to have lots of things done to them. They have to be led to the water. Every year they have to have the wool taken off them because in that wool is all the burrs and the rubbish, and in the summer they would die. So we see that we have to allow ourselves to be watered, to be fed, to have our bad things taken away from us, to be fruitful, and to live close to God. The teeth are like a flock of sheep. They are all even. Out of our mouth proceeds all of the words that we say, so we have to make sure that our words are always even, that they are not judgemental, that they treat everyone as equal in God's sight. They washed and we too had to be washed through Baptism, so that we can call on the good shepherd.
None of the sheep were barren and they all brought forth twins, so we see that we have to make this effort in our life to serve the Lord at all times, to be fruitful, and help others to this great promise. The lips were like a thread of scarlet. Under the Jewish law, if a person was found telling lies, he had to go to the priest and the priest painted his lips a scarlet colour to cure him. We see that we must always be careful of what we say, that we do not tell lies, that we do not go about tale-bearing and causing trouble, but at all times ask the high priest to paint our lips with scarlet.
The neck is like the tower of David on which all the armoury was hung. Our neck connects our head with
our body. The head of the church is Christ. We must have strong faith, connecting ourselves as the body of Christ to the head, Christ. Always do in our life all those things that Christ has taught us. When we listen to those things, perhaps we become depressed, because we ask ourselves how can we do all of those
things, and of course we can't, but through the Grace of Christ he has given us a way when Solomon saw a hill of frankincense and a mountain of myrrh.
Frankincense represents the Holy Ghost. We cannot see it but it has been given to us from God. This Holy Ghost can forgive us our sins. It can comfort us, feed us, give us the Word of God, tell us when we are doing wrong and help us do right, so we must at all times in our life call on this Holy Spirit through the Grace of Christ to forgive our sins.
The mountain of myrrh. Myrrh was used to embalm bodies so that they would not deteriorate, and we've been given a mountain of myrrh which is the. Holy Communion. This will also preserve our bodies, that even if we pass away in this life, when the Lord returns the graves will open and we will be made whole again. This myrrh is used to take away our forgiven sins and replace it with the righteousness of Christ, and it is only by this righteousness of Christ and the Grace of Christ, not by any acts of ourselves, not by fulfilling any laws, only the Grace of Christ that can prepare us for those wonderful words that Solomon saw in verse 7, "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. "
Let us seek the Grace of Christ and His righteousness, and remember Christ's teaching. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all else will be added unto you."
APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND
TEXT: I Peter 2:6-8 "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Corner Stone, Elect, Precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe He is Precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the Head of the Corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."
The corner stone which the builders disallowed, became the Head and Final Corner Stone, according to Ephesians 2:20 "and are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone." Our Lord did not fill the place of corner stone under His people. They rejected it; but thanks to God, others accepted it, whose example we follow.
It is not always the one that finds favour with mankind, but more so, and often the one who is not acceptable to mankind.
God the Almighty chose Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. To many people amongst the Israelites he was known as a stammerer, yet through his absolute clean heart, yet no one else was suitable. Aaron was used as mouthpiece to speak for Moses. Exodus. 6:12 "And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?" The most unacceptable is often the most acceptable to the Lord. Moses was not sure that he would have the power and faith to execute this great task. He asked for a sign. The Lord spoke to Moses and gave him a sign: "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, not hearken unto my voice: for they will say, the Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, what is that in thine hand? And he said, a Rod. And He said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, put thine hand into thy bosom. Again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. And Moses said unto the Lord, 0 my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." (Exo.4:1-12)
Likewise was Saul the one who persecuted the children of God, and by the wisdom of God he became an Apostle of Note, with works which no one could match.
Therefore we must walk cautious in life, and like the prophet Samuel keep your name in honour. I Sam. 12:3 "Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken? Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? And I will restore it you." Although the Israelites did not accept Christ, He still became the biggest name of earth. Thus it does not depend upon who accepts you. The main concern remains, if God accepts you, and the Lord seals you, no one can take that away.
Interestingly, some still maintain: there cannot be Apostles today. Apostle Paul answers this question and we must clearly understand, although some rejects Apostles of today, they very well know that they do exist. 11Cor. 6:8-10 "by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."
SEEK THE LORD WITH THESE WHO HAVE THE LEAST; HE IS NOT WITH THE GREATEST OR THESE THAT SKITE THEY HAVE THE MOST!
APOSTLE PHILP ERASMUS
SOUTH AFRICA
TEXT- Ephesians 4:8
“Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”
Our text tells us why our Lord had to ascend to heaven. We must understand that He ascended as a man and He will return as a man, but in the meantime, He sits in the throne of God and He directs the Church as the head. That is why He sent the Holy Spirit, so that this Spirit could stay with us on the earth and give us a power that is above Satan. Satan is an angel and men are made a little lower than angels, and if we did not have this Holy Spirit, Satan would defeat us the same as he did with all mankind up until Christ. That is why Christ had to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and then He was born in the flesh. We are all born in the flesh and we receive our spirit and life after we are born.
We see that our Lord was made different than us. We are born through the inheritance of Adam, and God made Adam's flesh first out of the dust and then He breathed into him and part of God then became part of man. We are body first and spirit second. Our Lord was born spirit first and body second. That is why He said to Nicodemus that we must be born of water and of spirit if we are to see the Kingdom of God, and then He emphasised it again and He said, "Verily, verily, unless you are born of water and of spirit you cannot enter the Kingdom of God".
We see that we have to make a preparation in our life to be ready for that day when we are fully reborn. We must, in this life, make the preparation for that great day. That preparation is made through the gifts that our Lord has sent unto us. We are Baptised to receive the remission of our inherited sin. We are given the Word of God so that we can lead our lives in this preparation. We are given the Forgiveness of our sins if we are earnest and repent. We then have those sins washed away through the Body and Blood of Christ, and then our soul is slowly being prepared for that great conversion day. This is not just a fairy tale; this is the Word of God, where He promised many hundreds of years before Christ, He showed that this kingdom would come into being. Through the Prophet Daniel 2:31-35. "Thou, 0 king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth ."
Daniel saw, at the time of the Roman Empire, that a stone was cut out of the mountain. No hand of man was used. No man had any part of it. It was God's work, and that small stone is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He was chosen by God to be the King of the coming Kingdom, and Daniel saw that at the time when there was great trouble in the world, that stone would come and hit the feet; hit all the nations of the world and all kingdoms would crumble, and the gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the iron, and the clay, would all be broken up and blown away. That stone then would begin to grow in the world until it covered the whole world, and that will be the Kingdom of God, with Christ and God at the head.
We must prepare ourselves for that Kingdom because we have to be converted to be as our Lord. That conversion will take place in two different ways. Firstly for those who pass from this life; they do not lose their place in the Kingdom. When our Lord returns He will bring their souls with Him as the clouds and when He arrives at the earth the graves will open and the bodies will come out and they will be made whole, and then the Spirit will go back in. They will then be as our Lord; Spirit first and Body second. Those who are living will be converted in the twinkling of an eye to be Spirit first and Body second, and we will all be taken by the Lord to be presented to His Father, who will then give to the Church that special gift prepared for it. He will cleanse the earth, make all things new, and then the Church and Christ will come back to this earth to live a thousand years of peace in the Kingdom of God. This is the Word of God. Six hundred years before that stone was cut, God told us. It happened; and the happening will also take place when this stone comes to create this Kingdom. Let us not doubt. We are being given the gift of righteousness of Christ. That should become converted in ourselves to be Faith, Hope, and Love. If we can obtain that, we can look forward to this great day. But we have to be careful how we look forward to this great day. If in our hearts we are looking forward to it so that we can show and be seen by others that we are ready and we are now going to receive this great reward, then we will probably not make it. But if our hearts are clean and we can look forward to this day so that we can kneel before our Lord and thank Him; thank Him for His sacrifice that has given us this chance; then we will truly understand the great blessing that God has prepared for us.
APOSTLE CLIFF FLOR
NORTH QUEENSLAND
TEXT - 2 Corinthians 10:13.
"But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you".
It is in man's nature to measure his abilities and strength against others. Already from a child onward it is in him to compete, who is the strongest, the cleverest or the best. Sport and Science gives us many examples. As long as this serves for the well being and for positive development, no one can dispute such a healthy zeal. In Genesis we read that God created man after His own image. (Gen. 1:26) The man lived in the Garden of Eden in closest and heartfelt fellowship with his Creator. But the adversary understood, by his subtlety, to bring the first people out of balance. He seized them at their weakest point, that is: wanting to be like God. This they could not resist. Through disobedience, God's planned harmony with them destroyed. Man was torn out and separated from God's closeness and suddenly forced to stand on his own feet, after enjoying life in Eden. But God gave him the promise on his way to send someone who would remove this separation into all eternity. Although God gave man laws and through authorized messengers, (judges, kings, prophets) guiding principles and directions to help their lives, they lost more and more of the Godly standard. They did not heed what God said anymore. In the true sense of the word, they became presumptuous and put themselves in the place of God and made themselves the standard of all things. Many examples prove this in the Old Testament. The time of Noah (Genesis 6:5) or the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) Even Godly punishment could not bring the majority of the people to change their way and return to God. Even when God made His promise come to fulfilment, in that He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world, when He became man, reachable for the people, to be felt and experienced, even then He was not known nor accepted. He became for many people inconvenient and a thorn in the eye, because He made it distinctly clear, that the measuring line, which they layed on their lives, was a completely wrong measure. Self conceit, hypocrisy, lust of power made them blind to discern the true measure, the standard and healing plan of God. Jesus' preaching in love, His call to turn and repent, His words of Truth were classed as infamous and God slandering. They sought after His life and lastly succeeded to condemn and crucify Him. So they hoped to have silenced Him for ever. But their plan went wrong. This Christ remained not in death. This measuring line could not be broken. God has highly exalted His Son and given Him a name above every name. (Philipp. 2:9) In Him shall all find and their direction and before Him every knee shall bow. Since then, nearly 2000 years have past and when we view the world and the people, we realize that since then very little has changed. Ethical and moral worths are getting more and more undermined and thrown overboard. One's opinion is that God's orders are outdated and anti-godliness is raised to normality. Also for us as Christians, face the danger to submit ourselves to these wrong rules and standards, after the motto: what thousands are doing, cannot be wrong! Therefore it is always most important for us to keep the standard of Jesus Christ before our eyes, of which
the Apostle Paul wrote. As the cabinet maker constantly uses the ruler for his work that it will measure to size, so should we measure our lives constantly on the standard of Jesus Christ. This is the STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED BUT WHO HAS BECOME THE HEAD OF THE CORNER. NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER, FOR THERE IS NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED. (Acts 4:11,12) No one must say that this standard may be too high or too weak. Even for the cabinet maker's apprentice, the ruler is most important, though he is not able to perform faultless. The piece of work will only turn out to the satisfaction of the master and the customer, if the right measure was used. We won't get far in our life to reach our goal, if we don't start to use this measure line of Jesus Christ ourselves.
APOSTLE DETLEF LIEBERTH
GERMANY