-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [The Moderator would welcome your comments/feedback] [<SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> Archives/Read online: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <SUNDAY-GLEANINGS> <13 October 2002> Contents: ----------- (1) <Devotional> "Treasury of David - Psalm 84:10"- C.H.Spurgeon (2) <Bible-Study> "Exposition of the Levitical offerings" (Pt-10)-C.E.Wigg (3) <Devotional> "Lamp hands or loving hearts" - Ravi Zacharias (4) <Bible-Study> "Worship" (Pt-2) - FJR (5) <From-the-Gleaner> "Top-stories-of-the-week" - Ben (1) <DEVOTIONAL> TREASURY OF DAVID - PSALM 84:10 C. H. Spurgeon Verse 10. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. Of course the Psalmist means a thousand days spent elsewhere. Under the most favourable circumstances in which earth's pleasures can be enjoyed, they are not comparable by so much as one in a thousand to the delights of the service of God. To feel his love, to rejoice in the person of the anointed Saviour, to survey the promises and feel the power of the Holy Ghost in applying precious truth to the soul, is a joy which worldlings cannot understand, but which true believers are ravished with. Even a glimpse at the love of God is better than ages spent in the pleasures of sense. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. The lowest station in connection with the Lord's house is better than the highest position among the godless. Only to wait at his threshold and peep within, so as to see Jesus, is bliss. To bear burdens and open doors for the Lord is more honour than to reign among the wicked. Every man has his choice, and this is ours. God's worst is better than the devil's best. God's doorstep is a happier rest than downy couches within the pavilions of royal sinners, though we might lie there for a lifetime of luxury. Note how he calls the tabernacle the house of my God; there's where the sweetness lies: if Jehovah be our God, his house, his altars, his doorstep, all become precious to us. We know by experience that where Jesus is within, the outside of the house is better than the noblest chambers where the Son of God is not to be found. _______________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> THE BREAD OF GOD - AN EXPOSITION OF SOME OF THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS (PART-10) Charles E. Wigg TWO TURTLE DOVES: Now we have the smallest of the offerings, two turtle doves, or two young pigeons. These instructions should be a real encouragement to young believers. However small their contribution of praise or worship may be, they may bring their "turtle doves", or "young pigeons". Such should never be discouraged by the fact that they cannot offer a contribution of length, or use the rich expressions that others do, let them just "Give unto God the glory due to his name, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness", (Psalm 29;2.) The dove is said by the Lord Jesus to be harmless, and Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus was "Holy harmless and undefiled", (Heb. 7;26.) The dove is a grave and gentle little bird and has no aggressive character, and it has a sweet, sad song. Only this morning I have been listening to its gentle mournful cooing. Isaiah says "I mourn greatly like doves", (ch. 59;11 & 38;14.) The same prophet tells us that the Lord Jesus is "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and that he has "borne our griefs and carried our sorrows", (ch. 53;3 & 4.) In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death", (Mark 14;34.) THE YOUNG PIGEONS: These remind us of the fact that the Lord Jesus never reached old age, but gave his life for us on the cross when only 33 1/2 years of age. His feelings as to this were expressed through the Psalmist when he said, "My days are as a lengthened out shadow"...."He shorteneth my days",...."Take me not away in the midst of my days" (Psalm 120;11-23 & 24.) When in the prime and vigor of life, he laid down that life for us, and gave himself as a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savor to God. When the birds were brought all the offerer did was to bring and to present them, the rest was done by the priest. This would teach us how a spiritually mature brother may assist a younger believer in worship. Every part of the birds was not acceptable for sacrifice, and the priest removed what was not acceptable, but enhanced and displayed what was. First the heads were wrung, or pinched off and burnt on the altar. The bird's heads were much smaller than that of the other offerings, but have the same meaning, and the savor was just as sweet and acceptable to God, The blood was then pressed out at the side of the altar, though much smaller in quantity, yet just as precious to God, in that it spoke to him of the precious blood of the man of sorrows. The priest then removed the crop and the feathers and placed them beside the altar on the east side where the ashes were kept. They were not burned because their burning would give rise to an unpleasant odour, just as the skin of the bullock was not burned, but given to the priest. The putting aside of the crop and feathers does not suggest that there was ever anything about the person of Christ that was not delightful to God, but rather that through lack of understanding of the scriptures, or sometimes through nervousness we may say things in our offering of worship that are not quite right, and because of this not acceptable. Sometimes we may hear young men worship God from their full hearts, but due to lack of understanding, say things that are not quite right. In such a case, an older more experienced brother, may take up what is acceptable in the young brother's offering, and either in a word of ministry, or else in his own contribution of worship, enlarge upon the really acceptable and precious thoughts that the younger brother has expressed. He may bring them out in such a way that the younger men will be edified and encouraged, and others may be stimulated to worship. What is not acceptable is not enlarged upon, nor even mentioned, but gently removed and put in the place of the ashes. God would have us to do all that we can to encourage younger believers, (in fact all believers), to worship. The crop and feathers being placed on the east side of the altar, may suggest to our minds the fact of the Lord's coming, the east being the place of the sun rising. It would bring to our minds the anticipation of the dawn of that glorious day, the day of Jesus Christ, when we will be caught up to be with him, when we will no longer be hindered by weakness or lack of knowledge, but will be able to worship the Lord in the way that we have always wanted to. since we were saved. The priest then opened the birds at the wings, but he did not divide it, or tear it apart. This opening of the birds again revealed the inner perfection of the offering, and the purity of the one of whom they spoke. The fact that they were not divided would teach us that we are never to criticize, to pull apart what another may offer in worship. The birds were then offered, burnt upon the altar, an offering of a sweet smelling savor, acceptable to God. The same sweetness, the same savor, the same fragrance as the bullock, lamb or goat. The fact that two were offered may suggest the thought of testimony or witness, that is even in a small offering there is abundant testimony to the perfect acceptability of him of whom the burnt-offering speaks. These are just a few of the things that we can learn from the details of the burnt-offering, given to us in the wonderful first chapter of the Book of Leviticus. [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced with permission] _______________________________________________________ (3) <DEVOTIONAL> <SLICE-OF-INFINITY> LAMP HANDS OR LOVING HEARTS Ravi Zacharias "Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God," begins the quote by Archbishop William Temple, which I have often recited. The submission of all our nature to God. Do we understand this, let alone surrender to it? What an incredible statement! The submission of all our nature to God must encompass, as Temple reminds us, the conscience, the mind, the imagination, the heart, and the will. In short, worship is bringing all of ourselves in adoration to God. As the Psalm writer put it: Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. This type of worship does not come naturally to us as humans, does it? I don't know if you have ever taken the time to study Michelangelo's famous painting of God reaching out to Adam. It is such an interesting and telling picture. God's arm is outstretched. Every muscle on His face is contorted and the hand is reaching out as far as possible to make contact with man. One might assume that Adam is also struggling earnestly to touch God. Quite the contrary. Adam lackadaisically lets a limpish hand dangle with apathy in an attitude that seems to say, "If it meets, it meets." How well Adam's character reflects the contrasting inclinations of the heart. Certainly there are times-albeit few-when we realize our need for God and our absolute lostness without Him. But for the most part, we let a limp hand dangle at our side and do not even bother to lift it. Jesus makes it clear that God is seeking worshippers. In his famous interaction with the woman at the well he said, "..the true worshippers...worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks." In other words, God is seeking those who love Him with all that they are, with both their hearts and their minds. Author John Piper says it simply: "Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship." May I ask you, friend, how is your worship? Are you worshipping with all that is within you, with deep affection, mindful of who God is? Let us paint ourselves into Michelangelo's picture and replace Adam's response to God with an arm outstretched toward Him, a heart full of love for Him and a mind full of His truth. --- Copyright (p)(c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. A Slice of Infinity is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. _______________________________________________________ (4) <BIBLE-STUDY> "WORSHIP" 2/2 F.J.R* .... This morning I would like to dispel and demolish all false ideas about what most people class as worship. Dismantle all preconceived ideas of what a worship meeting is supposed to be. You see some people talk about open worship, but that does not define anything, because there is no such thing as closed worship. The fact is that God is seeking, and if worship be as common as Religion all over the world would like us to believe, God would not need to seek. (John 4:20-240. But God does seek those that are willing, prepared, and determined to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Let me say this, the Spirit is free, and the Truth is not negotiable. In reality everything that is sensual and physical is not spiritual. From the Woman's head covering to bringing your pet dog or cat into the house of God - that is compromise of truth, and a compromise of truth is disobedience and error. So what am I saying ? Waving your hands in the air, clapping your hands, making a lot of noise has nothing to do with real worship towards God. All those incidentals are secondary to the real issue. They are not for the benefit of God - they are for the benefit of man. You see, to worship God you need nothing, because it is an attitude of heart and spirit, contemplating and adoring the greatness, the goodness, the love and mercy of our God and Saviour. Our English word worship comes from worth-ship. What value do you place on your God and Saviour ? Is He to you like Peter says (1Pet.2:7) precious ? Heb.11:21 says Jacob worshipped leaning upon the top of his staff. What do think he was actually doing ? He was quietly contemplating, appreciating and rejoicing in the goodness of God in his life and bringing that spiritual sacrifice of thanksgiving and adoration (Praise). So, we too should be clear what the Sunday Morning Meeting is to be. Is it for our own benefit, entertainment like a club? Is it for others to join the club or is it a Public Worship Meeting when we bring thanks-giving and praise to God? Notice I did not say private and I suggest that is what it should be a Public Worship Meeting. By now you say that this is all a contradiction of words and thoughts, but it is not, because public worship is the appreciation of our God and Saviour put into words of thanksgiving and praise for the benefit of others, be they Believers of Unbelievers. Public worship is the testimony of our faith to angels and men. Does our testimony bring glory to God, if it does no doubt Satan will hate it. There are no hard or fast rules set out in the New Test. how the format of a public worship meeting should be, but the first key-word is discretion followed with the key-word liberty, because the New Test. stresses the importance that the teaching of the Holy Spirit is not bound to one person. 1Cor.14:23, If therefore the whole church be come together into one place v.26, everyone of you hath a psalm, a doctrine, a revelation. So everyone hath a Psalm, not everyone is prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak for v.29 says let the prophets speak by two or three with the reason that the whole church may by edified (built up). So we are talking about the opportunity of multiple participation of Believers taking part in the reading of the Scripture = A Psalm, expounding of Scripture = A Doctrine something you never saw before = A Prophecy - Revelation. When you think of worship - think Christ centred, Christ centred in contrast to self centred. Some people just talk about their own importance which I think is absolutely rude in the presence of God and Angels. The key to a spiritual contribution is a deflated ego, forget about yourself, take a verse from the Scriptures, meditate on it, even if it takes a month, consider how you can use it to exalt Christ. Ask yourself, how can I bring the truth across in a minimum of words. You are not there to give a sermon, as some have done in the past, we have a speaker for the sermon. You are not to take up all the time, for the Holy Spirit may have someone else to minister to God and the Saints also. Consider others. What if the bread for communion for instance was all eaten by the first person. Be not presumptuous, consider others. If you are a bad communicator put it first in writing, rehearse it, reduce it, give God your very best. Worship and communion with God is when we enter into the thoughts of God concerning His Son. It is as if God were saying;" I want to take you into fellowship with me in the thoughts about My Son. I want you to know more about Him." Remember the voice from heaven? "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED - IN WHOM I FIND ALL MY DELIGHT " To summarize; Worship is when we bring to God, in contrast to when we ask and receive of God. In the Old Test. the command is: "None shall appear before Me empty." When all our delight is in the Son of God, of which all the Old Testament sacrifices speak, we bring better sacrifices than that of Abel. --- *Courtesy F.J.R _______________________________________________________ (5) <FROM-THE-GLEANER> A-GLANCE-AT-THE-TOP-STORIES-OF-THE-WEEK Ben IRAQ'S REPLY TO UN SEEN AS UNRESPONSIVE: The Iraqi reply to a request from the chief U.N. weapons and nuclear inspectors for confirmation of understandings reached in the Vienna talks was regarded Friday by some Security Council members as unresponsive. WHITE HOUSE PLANS POST-SADDAM IRAQ: The Bush administration is working on post-war plans for Iraq that could include using American and other foreign troops as a stabilizing force until a new government is formed, the Pentagon said Friday. IRAQ'S MUSLIM CLERICS URGE JIHAD IF US ATTACKED: Some 500 Iraqi Muslim clerics and scholars issued a religious edict on Saturday calling on Muslims to launch a holy war to "burn the earth under the feet" of the United States if it attacked Iraq. KUWAITI GOVERNMENT: SHOOTING ATTACK 'A TERRORIST ACT': A brief statement by the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry, carried by the official KUNA news agency, labelled the incident "a terrorist act." It identified the two attackers as Kuwaitis Anas al-Kandari, born in 1981, and Jassem al-Hajiri, born in 1976. ATTACKS PUT US TROOPS ON ALERT: The United States is bracing for the possibility of continued attacks against American forces overseas after a second shooting in two days involving troops in Kuwait. YEMEN BLAST SEEN AS TERROR ACT: A fiery explosion aboard a French oil tanker in the Arabian Sea resulted from an attack on the ship, U.S. and French officials concluded Thursday. The Americans said it was an act of terrorism most likely carried out by people with links to al-Qaida. ARAFAT, SADDAM EXCHANGE MESSAGES: Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat received a message from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein Thursday, Palestinian officials told The Jerusalem Post. ISRAEL CURBS ACCESS TO JERUSALEM MUSLIM HOLY SITE: Israel curbed access to one of Islam's holiest sites on Friday to try to deter possible violence after the end of prayers, a week after worshippers stoned police guarding an adjacent plaza sacred to Jews. NEW BULGE DEVELOPS ON WALL OF TEMPLE MOUNT: As Jordanian engineers began tests on a two-year-old bulge on the southern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount this week, a side section of the mount's western wall that shows signs of dampness has begun to protrude as well. ISRAEL BRACES FOR REVENGE ATTACKS: ISRAELI residents were bracing themselves after Islamic militant groups vowed to exact revenge for the deaths of 14 Palestinians during a major army incursion into the Gaza Strip. INTERCEPTED CONVERSATION SAYS BIN LADEN ALIVE, PLOTTING NEW ATTACKS: Osama bin Laden is alive, travelling with his lieutenant, Egyptian Ayman Al Zawahri, living in Afghanistan and plotting more attacks, according to a satellite telephone conversation reportedly intercepted over the weekend by US and Afghan intelligence. PRO-TALIBAN GROUPS WIN PAKISTAN VOTE: A coalition of pro-Taliban parties won control of a provincial legislature near the Afghan border Friday, the first solid results from Pakistan's election. Vote counting for the national parliament was moving slowly. MUSHARRAF FACES CRISIS WITH RISE OF ISLAMISTS: Islamic fundamentalists were on the verge of taking power in a Pakistani province bordering Afghanistan and mainstream opposition parties were outperforming those loyal to President Pervaiz Musharraf in key constituencies, according to early general election results last night. CHINA MARKETS NEW ROCKET SYSTEM TO MIDEAST: Industry sources said the new A100 multiple-rocket system is being promoted as a cheaper version of Russia's Smerch multiple-launch rocket system. REV. FALLWELL ASKED TO APOLOGIZE: Remarks by conservative Baptist minister Rev. Jerry Falwell, who called Prophet Mohammed a "terrorist," appears to have outraged Muslims across the globe with protests reported from India to Malaysia. EU COMMISSION SAYS 10 COUNTRIES CAN JOIN EU: The European Commission said on Wednesday 10 countries can wrap up accession talks in December and join the EU in 2004 in a historic unification of Europe, provided Ireland's voters do not derail the project. GERMANY UNDERLINES SUPPORT FOR STRONG EU COMMISSION: German chancellor Gerhard Schröder has underlined his support for a strong European Commission. At a meeting with Commission president Romano Prodi on Wednesday, the Chancellor confirmed Germany's backing for an "independent" EU executive body. _____________________<BrethrenVoice>_____________________ Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: http://associate.com/digests/brethrenvoice/ <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5 "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Jn 8:32 _______________________________________________________