20190203 – Sunday – Exhort by Paul Gresham

20190203 –  Sunday – Exort by Paul Gresham

Paul is generally, not terribly well, these days, so giving an exhortation at South is quite a challenge for him, and he commenced his exhort by saying that he felt “a bit nervous.”

Well, despite the fact that he talks a little bit “in his beard,” and so is hard to hear (for me), nonetheless he gave this excellent exhortation.

In Genesis, we read, that the angels said “Let us make man in own image and likeness” and they made man and woman.

In time Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and their eyes were opened and so they became like the Elohim, like God.

In Phil 2 we read how that Jesus was “made in the form of God,” but unlike Eve, he did not think that equality with God was “a thing to be grasped at.”

In the wilderness, when he was tempted by the diabolos, he was hungry but he did not succumb to that temptation.

He endured all the sufferings that we have but “without sin.”

Phil 2v1-13 was then read by Jane S.

Jesus being made “in the likeness” of God, he “humbled himself,” and therefore God exalted him, so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”

And we are exhorted to “work out OUR salvation with fear and trembling.

And we do it, knowing that God is at work in us.

In John 1v33-35, Jesus said to his disciples, “yet a little wile I am with you,” but “where I am going you cannot come.”

And the disciples said, “What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall to find me: and where I am thither ye cannot come?” Joh 7v36.

How did they feel when they understood that the Lord was to be taken from them.

They would have wanted to know what they were going to do without him.

Jesus said “A new commandment, I give unto you.” 

“Just as I have loved you, you are to love one another.”

And this is one of the greatest blessings we have been given, “to love one another.”

The disciples were in a completely new world, a new dimension in love.

And Jesus answered Nicodemus

“Truly …unless one is born again…He cannot see the kingdom of God,”

“Unless one is “born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

But how can that be? “That which is born of he flesh is flesh and  that which is born of spirit is spirit.”

But we, who are like worms, how are we to understand this? 

What does it mean?

Gal 3 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith”

“For as many of you as were baptised into Christ, have put on Christ”

We are a new creation, for if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation>

The old has passed away, the new has come 2 Cor 5v17.

This all happens because Christ died for our sins

He “gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed.” Ti 2v14.

“To purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.

We are exhorted to “Love each other just as Jesus Christ loved us and gave himself for us.”

And Jesus took the bread, which he received from the Lord. And this was the most most complete and true food we ever had.

“This is my body which is for you, do in remembrance of me, 1 Cor 11v23-24.

Remembrance, because he had died.

Now you are Christ’s body and individually members of it, 1 Cor 12v27.

If anyone would cone after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Matt 16v24

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ, 1 Cor11v1.

Jesus carried that cross all through all his life and we should be for each other what Jesus was for us.

He died for me, and he died for every one of you

“Do this in remembrance of me.”

You are Christ to me, brothers and sisters.

We are not here to take the bread and wine, just to say “thank you” to God and to Jesus Christ. 

We must die daily for each other.

What matters is faith working through us, and this is in remembrance of Jesus Christ body. 

We are to commit ourselves to do the same.

In this exhortation I have put a space between the bread and the taking of the wine because I want you to consider the difference between the mortality of Jesus and the immortality of Jesus.

Separating the bread from the wine

“You must be born again.”

The wind blows, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it goes.

So it is with the wine, so it is with everyone who is born of the spirit, Ep h 1v4-6.

“God being rich in mercy.”

God’s great love, made us alive together with Christ by grace, seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

That’s where we are now.

We are transformed, like the Cherubim of God. 

The cherubim had four wings and if we look at the picture of these geese who are travelling in a V formation. 

The geese use the slip stream of the V to travel with. They use the slip stream of others and also provide it to others.

They are not BORN with the knowledge of the slip stream, as part of their instinct.

They have to learn it from each other

Geese can change position in the V, and so each individual bird shares the load and the benefits.

The young lean about the slip stream from the experienced birds.

You can see how others are doing by watching them, but the leader can see everyone, and our leader is the Lord Jesus Christ

This is what fellowship is all about.

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13v34-35.

Then Jill Gresham read 1Cor 12v12-27.

“And now abide faith, ope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love , 1 Cor 13v13. 

It is not what we do, but why we do it, our motivation that is important.

“Neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision, means anything, but faith working through love.”

Christ is the head of the church,His body and  he is its saviour.

God has arranged the members of the body in order as he chose.

The foot cannot say, I am not the hand so I don’t belong, I don’t feel part of the body.

Sometimes the most important people in our ecclesia are the least valued to themselves, such as the poor in spirit, and they who mourn.

Pride within our body is when one says to another, “I have no need of you.”

Our head says to the foot, “Say not that I have no need of you.” 

Your LORD says, “I HAVE need of you,” and so we have to do the same.

The pure in heart, and merciful, know that the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

And so If one member suffers, all suffer. 

If one member is honoured, all rejoice together.

“All things are not helpful and do not build up.”

Do not pass judgment. 

Decide NEVER to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother 

The holy Spirt bears witness to the covenant that is of the new creation.

“I will put my laws in their hearts and write then on their minds”

Hold fast the the confession of our hope, how to stir up one another to love and good works,and encourage one another, “and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” 

The relationships that we have between us are so important. 

This is love, that he loved us, sent his son, so we also ought to love one another

So the wine is the new covenant under which we live.

THIS is the new covenant!

And so we take the wine, but before we take the wine, we will sing PTL “LOVE NEVER FAILS.”

AMEN AND AMEN.