-------------------------<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> <8 December 2002> Contents: ----------- 1) <Devotional> "Treasury of David - Psalm 23:6"- C.H. Spurgeon 2) <Bible-Study> "Levitical offerings" (Pt-18)-Charles E.Wigg 3) <Doctrinal> "The role of men and women…" (Pt-2) - FJR 4) <From-the-Gleaner> "Top-stories-of-the-week" - Ben 1) <DEVOTIONAL> TREASURY OF DAVID - PSALM 23:6 C. H. Spurgeon Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This is a fact as indisputable as it is encouraging, and therefore a heavenly verily, or "surely" is set as a seal upon it. This sentence may be read, "only goodness and mercy," for there shall be unmingled mercy in our history. These twin guardian angels will always be with me at my back and my beck. Just as when great princes go abroad they must not go unattended, so it is with the believer. Goodness and mercy follow him always -- all the days of his life -- the black days as well as the bright days, the days of fasting as well as the days of feasting, the dreary days of winter as well as the bright days of summer. Goodness supplies our needs, and mercy blots out our sins. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. "A servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the son abideth ever." While I am here I will be a child at home with my God; the whole world shall be his house to me; and when I ascend into the upper chamber, I shall not change my company, nor even change the house; I shall only go to dwell in the upper storey of the house of the Lord for ever. May God grant us grace to dwell in the serene atmosphere of this most blessed Psalm! _______________________________________________________ 2) <BIBLE-STUDY> THE OBLATION OR MEAL OFFERING - AN EXPOSITION OF SOME OF THE LEVITICAL OFFERINGS - CHAPTER 2 (PART-18) Charles E. Wigg THE FIRE: However when the oblation was prepared it still had to be burned on the fire. It was the consuming fire of God's holy wrath, judgment and death, that made the sweet savor of the offering to rise and to fill the nostrils of God. HONEY: Verse eleven tells us that honey was never to be burned with any offering that was presented to the Lord. Honey suggests mere human sweetness. Such sweetness is usually only superficial, and often assumed as a kind of show, to impress others. It tries to make the individual popular with others, so that they might comment, "What a nice person he or she is". But if you had to live with that person, you would probably find him or her to be quite the opposite. I have met some Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and nominal Christians, who seem on casual acquaintance to be very sweet and nice people, but such sweetness is not acceptable to God, and they can only come to Him, as we have all had to do, as lost and guilty sinners, through the person and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was none of this mere natural sweetness in our Lord Jesus. There was no pretense, no outward show with Him. Never did He seek popularity with men, but daily walked before God, seeking to please Him only, " doing always those things that please the Father", ( John 5;41 & 8;29) There was no honey in His sacrifice! OFFERED WITH EVERY SWEET SAVOR OFFERING: It is stated in other passages, especially in chapter 23 of Leviticus, that the oblation was to be offered with every sweet savor offering ; this would teach us that whenever we participate in worship, we cannot think of His precious atoning death, without the remembrance and appreciation of His beautiful life. That life was an offering from it's very beginning. THE FIRST-FRUITS: The last two verses of our chapter teach us about the first-fruits. This again speaks to us about Christ. He is spoken of thus in the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians, verse twenty three. He is also called " The Firstborn of all creation", and the "First begotten from among the dead” ( Rev. 1;15.). He is the first-fruits of a great harvest that our God is reaping as a result of His death, burial and resurrection. GREEN EARS OF CORN: Green ears of corn were to be offered, and these would remind us of the fact that the Lord Jesus never reached old age, but was taken away in the midst of His years as we saw earlier. Though green, yet they were to be full ears: there was no blight, nor mildew, no deformity, no immaturity in Him, He was a perfect man, the only perfect man. Man as god intended man to be. These ears were either roasted in the fire, or the corn was beaten out of them. This again reminds us of the different kinds of suffering through which the Lord Jesus passed throughout His perfect life. As with the other oblations, the oil was poured on to the corn, speaking once again of the anointing, filling, and empowering of the Holy Spirit in the life of our Lord Jesus. Frankincense was also added, and again only the handful was burned on the altar; the rest was given to the priests as their portion and their food. [To be concluded] --- [Reproduced by permission] _______________________________________________________ 3) <BIBLE-STUDY> "THE ROLE AND POSITION OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE CHURCH MEETING" "(PART-2) F.J.R* Text - I Cor. 14:26-40 Now briefly this sacrifice can be given in a fourfold manner: 1) our own living bodies Rom. 12:1 2) our substance - that is, giving what we can and have for others Rom.12:13 3) our service Heb. 13:16 4) our praise to God Heb. 13:15 "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Now it is this last verse which has to do with this chapter in Corinthians. It is the believers’ duty and privilege to offer his worship to God in the meeting of the Church and as we go into our passage we find the regulations that are given for the exercising of our priestly office. Now the public worship given in the meeting is for the men only, while the woman is to worship in silence. We shall see more of this later. 2. How the Corinthians came together (vs. 26) But now we come and learn how the meeting took place in Corinth. The apostle Paul here is stating what was normal in the meeting. When the brethren came together each one of them were prepared to give something, be a Psalm or teaching, a tongue, a revelation or an interpretation. This was not a condemnation, nor was he commending them. Paul was simply stating what was normal. And I think we should learn from this verse. Each man should have something ready to give in each meeting and should the occasion clearly present itself then what they have prepared may readily be spoken. Though we may be prepared, however, we may find that as the meeting proceeds that what we may have may not fit in or relate in any way. In this instance the suggestion is that we hold our peace until perhaps another meeting. Now often we may not have something prepared yet we always should leave ourselves open to the leading of the Holy Spirit during the meeting should He prompt us to say something. We don’t necessarily have to have something prepared beforehand to be able to give in the meeting. And we read that all things are to be done for edification. This is the aim for all of the ministry given. If what we say is unedifying then we are wasting our time and the Lord’s time. Now we have mentioned here tongues, interpretations and revelation. A revelation is simply a revealing of an expression of the mind of God for the instruction of the Church. However the tongues and interpretation of tongues I understand to be gifts which are no longer available to the Church today. Scripture teaches a number of things concerning the gift of tongues and from these teachings it appears evident that the gift isn’t applicable any more. I shan’t go into the subject of tongues at present, but if the Lord wills we may perhaps look at it in more detail at a later date. But I do not believe tongues to be genuinely present in the Church today. [To be concluded] --- *Courtesy F.J.R _______________________________________________________ 4) <FROM-THE-GLEANER> A-GLANCE-AT-THE-TOP-STORIES-OF-THE-WEEK Ben COMPLY BY SUNDAY OR IT’S WAR, SAYS PRESIDENT BUSH: Saddam Hussein's failure to provide a "complete and credible" list of his weaponry by Sunday would justify war against Iraq, President George W Bush said last night. PENTAGON IS SET TO ACTIVATE THOUSANDS MORE RESERVISTS: The Pentagon is preparing for a major call-up of National Guard and Reserve troops, a move that would fill military jobs that would be critical if the United States goes to war against Iraq, Defense Department officials said today. UN TEAM VISITS IRAQ PRESIDENT’S PALACE: U.N. weapons inspectors on Tuesday made their first unannounced visit to one of Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces in an early test of new powers to inspect for weapons of mass destruction anywhere, anytime. SHARON ACCEPTS US ROADMAP FOR PALESTINIAN STATE: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has outlined his commitment to a U.S. vision for an interim Palestinian state over the next year. ISRAEL WARNS OF RESPONSE TO MASS TERROR: The head of Israel's National Security Council said Monday that a "mega-terror attack" threatening Israel's existence would open options for retaliation that hitherto "were unacceptable to public opinion." MOSSAD AGENTS SENT IN TO KILL: As soon as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon learned of last Thursday's terrorist attacks in Kenya, he summoned Mossad chief Meir Dagan to a meeting that promises to have momentous consequences for the conduct of the US-led war on terror. ISRAEL STILL HAS MILITARY SUPERIORITY OVER ARABS: A new study for Israel's annual strategic conference asserted that Israel has up to twice the military capability of Arab neighboring states. The study, "Herzliya Indices of National Strength," tallied all areas of military capabilities in Israel and Arab states. INTIFADA WILL COST US EVERYTHING, SAYS PALESTINIAN LEADER: A senior Palestinian leader called yesterday for a complete halt to armed attacks on Israeli targets, giving warning that Israel could use the intifada to destroy the last vestiges of Palestinian autonomy. NUMBER OF JEWS IN WORLD DOWN TO 12.9 MILION: The number of Jews in the world is declining with a net loss of 300,000 American Jews in the last decade, according to a new study following a preliminary examination of the recent census of American Jewry, according to the Jewish Agency's Institute for Jewish People Policy Planning. QUAKE RATTLES WESTERN GREECE, NO INJURIES REPORTED: A strong earthquake measuring 5.8 on the open-ended Richter scale struck western Greece on Monday damaging some houses, but with no reports of injuries so far, authorities said. RARE TOTAL ECLIPSE SPEEDS ACROSS AFRICA, AUSTRALIA: Skies darkened over southern Africa and Australia on Wednesday as a rare total solar eclipse raced across both continents, delighting astronomers, astounding tourists and confusing animals as day became night. WORLDWIDE RALLIES MARK WORLD AIDS DAY: Southern African countries marked World AIDS Day on Sunday with hopes that the region, which has the highest rate of HIV positive people on the planet, can slow the spread of the disease. BRITAN 'MAY LOSE CONTROL' OF TB AS CASES SOAR: Rtes of tuberculosis in some areas of London are higher than in parts of the developing world and the disease in Britain is running ahead of efforts to contain it, campaigners said yesterday. NEW BUG THREAT TO FIT AND YOUNG: A SUPERBUG which is capable of killing healthy young people and resists treatment has been discovered in Scotland. The bacterium causes potentially fatal pneumonia, even in young adults, is resistant to antibiotics and thrives outside hospitals, which are the normal breeding grounds for such harmful organisms. BRITAIN PUT ON SMALLPOX TEROR ALERT: Squads of health workers and servicemen are to be vaccinated against smallpox as a first line of defence against a terrorist attack, the Government announced yesterday. BLAIR-BROWN RIFT THREATENS VOTE ON EURO: A deepening rift between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair raised the prospect last night that the Government will not be able to call a referendum on joining the euro while Mr Brown is Chancellor. ‘FAITHFUL’ GAY RELATIONSHIPS OK, NEW CHURCH HEAD: The new spiritual head of the Church of England says "faithful" homosexual relationships do not conflict with the teachings of the Bible. BUSH PRAISES ISLAM FOR ITS MORALITY: President Bush yesterday removed his shoes, entered a mosque and praised Islam for inspiring "countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and morality." _____________________<BrethrenVoice>_____________________ Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: www.brethrenvoice.com <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 _______________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail