GOOD MORNING INDIA
PG Vargis
How to Find and Keep Peace
In 1555, Nicholas Ridley, a former Bishop of London, was burned at the stake in Oxford because of his beliefs. On the night before Ridley's execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need.
Peace is a great blessing. ‘Peace’ is a word of huge significance in the Bible. The Hebrew word for peace, Shalom, translated by the Greek word eirene, means far more than the absence of war or hostility. It is not just an absence of certain circumstances but the presence of God and his reign. It means wholeness, soundness, well-being, oneness with God – every kind of blessing and good.
In order to bring peace to others, we first need to find and hold on to peace within ourselves.
Peace with God
‘Peace’ and ‘silence’ – in the good sense of the word – often go hand in hand. This psalm speaks of the slanderous and the wicked being ‘put to silence’ (vv.5–8).
David sings of God’s ‘love and justice’ (v.1a). We talk a lot about God’s love but not so much about his justice, which is as important. Love without concern for justice is not true love, as love cries out for justice.
Only the ‘blameless’ (vv.2,6) can ‘dwell’ with him (v.6b), ‘minister to’ him (v.6c), ‘stand’ in his ‘presence’ (v.7). Slander (v.5a), pride (v.5b) and ‘deceit’ (v.7) are sins of the mouth, heart and action. They bring us under God’s judgment.
Thank God for the cross where ‘love’ and ‘justice’ mingle – truth and mercy meet. This is where God is both ‘just’ and justifies the one who has faith in him (Romans 3:23–26). Without the cross, we would be cut off from the Lord (Psalm 101:8).
Father, thank you that through our Lord Jesus Christ I have been justified by faith and have peace with you (Romans 5:1). Help me to bring this message of love, justice and peace to the world.
Peace in the church
‘God is not a God of disorder but of peace’ (v.33). The apostle Paul is clear that the creativity and spontaneity of the gifts of the Spirit, do not give licence for disorder in church meetings. ‘When we worship the right way, God doesn’t stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony’ (v.33, MSG).
Paul describes the way to peaceful, harmonious and orderly meetings in the church – ‘everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way’ (v.40). It may involve an appropriate keeping quiet (v.28) in order to let others speak.
This gives us some sense of what church meetings were like in the early church. Clearly, there was an expectation that the gifts of the Spirit would be exercised regularly: ‘When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation’ (v.26).
Gifts need to be exercised in an orderly way. There shouldn’t be anything weird or hyped up about spiritual gifts. It may surprise some that the singer Katy Perry once said, ‘Speaking in tongues is as normal to me as “Pass the salt”. It’s a secret, direct prayer language to God.’
Paul’s comments about prophecy and tongues being a ‘sign’ often cause confusion. He seems to say one thing in v.22 (tongues are a sign for unbelievers; prophecy for believers), and then the opposite in v.23! It is unlikely, though, that Paul would contradict himself.
It seems to me that Paul is saying that both the gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy should be used only in their appropriate ways. Throughout this chapter, Paul is giving instructions for the orderly use of tongues and prophecy in the church. When used inappropriately, both can be a source of chaos (vv.6–12 and vv.29–33), in which case unbelievers will think we are out of our minds.
If used appropriately within the context of church meetings, both tongues and prophecy can be an amazing indication of God’s presence (vv.22–25). Prophecy can be a powerful ‘sign’ for unbelievers that ‘God is really among you!’ (v.25). We have often seen this to be the case.
Whereas singing in tongues is a corporate activity, speaking in a tongue is an individual activity that requires an interpretation. Therefore, people ‘should speak one at a time and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speakers should keep quiet in the church and speak to themselves and God’ (vv.27–28).
Likewise, prophecy should be taken in turns. There is no limit to the number of prophecies. The speaker is always in full control: ‘The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets’ (v.32). In the demonic world, ‘spirits’ take over a person and they lose control. Not so with the Holy Spirit. A person speaking in tongues or prophesying is in full control. They can start when they choose and they can stop when they choose to do so. ‘For God is not a God of disorder but of peace’ (v.33).
Many explanations have been put forward for Paul’s instruction that women should remain silent in the churches (v.34). It is important to remember that Paul’s focus here is not on gender roles but on the conduct of public worship. He is addressing a series of specific problems that have arisen in the Corinthian church. He has already made it clear that he did expect women to speak in meetings. He writes, ‘Every woman who prays or prophesies...’ (11:5).
What is clear is that people, both men and women, did not come just as consumers but as contributors. The question we should ask is not ‘What am I getting out of church?’, but ‘What am I giving out at church?’ They did not come just to receive but also to help others. ‘When you gather to worship, each of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all’ (14:26, MSG). If we all come to church with this attitude of being a contributor it will totally transform our services of worship.
Lord, help us in all our services and other meetings to exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit in such a way that when people come into the church they will ‘fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”’ (v.25).
Peace in the nation
War devastates nations (15:5,6). It brings death, destruction and usually poverty. On the other hand, peace allows a nation to build and to become prosperous (14:7).
When Asa became King of Judah, ‘The country was at peace for ten years’ (v.1). This peace was a gift of God, ‘God kept the peace’ (v.6 MSG).
How does this peace and rest come about? The answer, which the chronicler gives is at least threefold:
- Seek God wholeheartedly
It was when they ‘prayed desperately to God’ (13:14, MSG) that God ‘delivered them’ (v.16). Asa ‘commanded Judah to seek the Lord’ (14:4). He said to the people, ‘We have this peaceful land because we sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles’ (v.7, MSG)
The prophet Azariah says, ‘If you seek him, he will be found by you’ (15:2). ‘In their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them’ (v.4). ‘They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul’ (v.12).
They sought God wholeheartedly and ‘God gave them peace within and without – a most peaceable kingdom!’ (v.15, MSG). - Obey God fully
When Asa heard the prophecy, ‘he took courage’ (v.8). Asa said to Judah, ‘Obey [God’s] laws and commands’ (14:4). The prophet Azariah said, ‘If you forsake him, he will forsake you’ (15:2). This passage is an example of God’s faithfulness to us when we do choose to obey him fully. - Rely on God totally
‘The men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors’ (13:18). ‘They trusted God’ (v.18, MSG). ‘Asa called on the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you”’ (14:11).
This is what it means to be ‘fully committed to the Lord’ (15:17). The result was that Asa’s work was rewarded (v.7) and the Lord his God was with him (v.9). There were peace and rest.
Lord, I want to seek you wholeheartedly, obey you fully and rely on you totally. I pray for rest and peace in my own life, in the church, in our land and between nations.
Yours to count on to see India is evangelized in our lifetime. No one can do it alone. But together...we can do it. Let us do it... together...now,
p g vargis and team
PG Vargis
Four Sacrifices That Please God
Looking back at my life, I now realise how many sacrifices my parents made out of love for my sister and me. I wish I had appreciated that more at the time. My parents came from a generation that was very familiar with the idea of sacrifice. Many of their contemporaries had sacrificed their lives for their fellow human beings and for their country. The whole idea of making sacrifices, great or small, seems more alien to our generation.
The vast majority of biblical references to ‘sacrifice’ are in the Old Testament. These passages prefigure Jesus’ sacrificial death for us on the cross. In the New Testament, almost all the references are about Jesus’ sacrifice – the death of Jesus as the one perfect and complete sacrifice fulfilling all the Old Testament preparation and prediction. We do not need to make any sacrifices for our sins. Yet the New Testament tells us that there are four sacrifices you can make that please God.
Thank God for the sacrifice of Jesus
God is holy (v.35) and loving. God loved David. He said, ‘I will not take my love from him’ (v.33).
God, in his love, made a covenant with David and his people. It was a covenant of grace, but it required a response of obedience to the law. But what would happen if they did not keep the law? If that happened – ‘If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands’ (vv.30–31) – a penalty would be required (v.32).
The New Testament tells us that God came in the person of his son Jesus Christ to take that penalty by offering himself as the sacrifice for sin. Through that sacrifice, God’s love and holiness were both fully expressed and satisfied and you need make no further sacrifice for sin.
Thank you, Lord, so much for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for me. Thank you that no further sacrifice is required for my sins.
Make sacrifices that please God
In this passage, we see four sacrifices that you can make in response to Jesus’ sacrifice for you:
- Sacrifice
of your lips
The writer of Hebrews says, ‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name… for with such sacrifices God is pleased’ (Hebrews 13:15–16).
Much of the first eleven chapters of Romans are about the sacrifice of Jesus for us. Paul, having set out all that God has done for us, responds with a sacrifice of praise (Romans 11:33–36). - Sacrifice
of your life
Paul continues, ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy [because of all that Jesus has done for us through the sacrifice of himself on the cross], to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship’ (12:1, AMP).
God wants you to offer all of yourself and all of your lives – your time, ambitions, possessions, ears, mouths and sexuality – as well as your mind, emotions and attitudes. Paul’s description of a living sacrifice also reminds us that you have to go on offering your life as a sacrifice to God, offering the whole of your life for the whole of your life.
As Eugene Peterson translates it in The Message, ‘Take your every day, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering’ (v.1, MSG).
In Old Testament times, ‘living sacrifice’ would be a contradiction in terms. The whole point of the sacrifice was that it was killed. Jago Wynne writes, ‘Our act of worship is no longer to bring a sacrifice, but to be one ourselves. We remain living. It is all of us that is being offered. Worship is about what I say with my tongue. It’s about what I watch… what I think… where I go with my feet.’ - The
sacrifice of your ‘loot’
Generous giving is another New Testament sacrifice. Paul encourages the sacrifice of generosity in contributing to the needs of others (v.8). ‘Share with God’s people who are in need’ (v.13). This is another sacrifice the writer of Hebrews says pleases God: ‘to share with others’ (Hebrews 13:16).
We are even to give generously to our enemies: ‘Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness’ (Romans 12:20, MSG). - Sacrifice
of your love
In this passage Paul gives many examples of the sacrifice of loving service (vv.9–21).
The writer of Hebrews says, ‘do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased’ (Hebrews 13:16).
‘Doing good’ means giving up things that are not good. ‘Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould’ (Romans 12:2, J.B. Phillips). Although God only asks us to give up the bad stuff in our lives, it can feel costly to do so because that stuff is superficially attractive. Repentance is a very positive word, but at the time it may seem sacrificial.
Sacrificial love involves allowing God to transform us by a complete change. Our love must be sincere (v.9). The Greek word for ‘sincere’ means ‘without hypocrisy’ or literally ‘without play acting’ or ‘without a mask’.
Often relationships in the world are quite superficial. We all put up fronts or masks to protect ourselves. When we see governments doing this, we call it ‘spin’. When we do it ourselves, we call it ‘image’; we are projecting something. In effect we’re saying, ‘I don’t really like what I am inside, so I will pretend I am somebody different.’
If other people are doing the same then there are two ‘fronts’ or ‘masks’ meeting. The sad result is that the two real people never meet. This is the opposite of ‘sincere love’. Sincere love means taking off your mask and daring to reveal who you are. When you know that God loves you as you are, you are set free to take off your mask.
This means that there is a completely new depth and authenticity in your relationships. Instead of trying to impress people with our masks, as we reveal who we truly are with all our flaws, we connect through our vulnerabilities.
Paul urges Christians to live in harmony with one another and to be generous (v.13), hospitable (v.13), forgiving (v.14), empathetic (v.15) and to live at peace with everyone (v.18). It is a glorious picture of the Christian family into which God calls us, beckoning us into an atmosphere of love, joy, patience, faithfulness, generosity, hospitality, blessing, rejoicing, harmony, humility and peace; where good is not overcome by evil, but evil is overcome with good (vv.9–21).
Lord, today I offer you my body as a living sacrifice. I am available to you. I give everything I have to you again – my life, time, money, ambitions, plans, hopes and desires. Show me your good, pleasing and perfect will (v.2).
Understand the sacrifices in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, the priests were the mediators between God and the people. ‘Aaron and his sons offered the sacrifices on the Altar... They made atonement for Israel’ (v.49, MSG).
Priesthood was hereditary. The priests were descendants of Levi. The chronicler lists the ‘sons of Levi’ (vv.1,16,46). We see that all those who served in the tabernacle (later to become the temple) were regarded as being ‘of Levitical descent’ (vv.1–30).
The chronicler stresses the importance of the temple. The temple was a place of worship where God’s spirit dwelt. David put some of the Levites in charge of the music in the house of the Lord – ‘These are the persons David appointed to lead the singing in the house of God... They were the ministers of music in the place of worship’ (vv.31–32, MSG).
Other Levites were required to present sacrifices on the altar – ‘making atonement’ (v.49). As we saw earlier, a simplified definition of atonement is ‘at-one-ment’. In other words, God providing a means through which people can be at one with him.
This was the pattern throughout the Old Testament. The need for sacrifice and the making of atonement prefigured the final, complete and sufficient sacrifice of Jesus. Such passages remind us of how amazing it is that sacrifices for sin are no longer necessary because of the one true and perfect sacrifice of Jesus.
Thank you, Lord, that all that is required of us today is a response to your sacrifice; to offer you the sacrifices of praise, of our bodies, of doing good and sharing with others. Thank you that with such sacrifices you are pleased. I pray that you would pour out your Spirit on our sacrifices.
Yours to count on to see India is evangelized in our life time. No one can do it alone. But together...we can do it. Let us do it... together...now,
PG Vargis
Peace in the nation
War devastates nations (15:5,6). It brings death, destruction and usually poverty. On the other hand, peace allows a nation to build and to become prosperous (14:7).
When Asa became King of Judah, ‘The country was at peace for ten years’ (v.1). This peace was a gift of God, ‘God kept the peace’ (v.6 MSG).
How do this peace and rest come about? The answer, which the chronicler gives is at least threefold:
- Seek God wholeheartedly
It was when they ‘prayed desperately to God’ (13:14, MSG) that God ‘delivered them’ (v.16). Asa ‘commanded Judah to seek the Lord’ (14:4). He said to the people, ‘We have this peaceful land because we sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles’ (v.7, MSG)
- The prophet Azariah says, ‘If you seek him, he will be found by you’ (15:2). ‘In their distress, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them’ (v.4). ‘They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul’ (v.12).
They sought God wholeheartedly and ‘God gave them peace within and without – a most peaceable kingdom!’ (v.15, MSG).
- Obey God fully
When Asa heard the prophecy, ‘he took courage’ (v.8). Asa said to Judah, ‘Obey [God’s] laws and commands’ (14:4). The prophet Azariah said, ‘If you forsake him, he will forsake you’ (15:2). This passage is an example of God’s faithfulness to us when we do choose to obey him fully.
- Rely on God totally
‘The men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the Lord, the God of their ancestors’ (13:18). ‘They trusted God’ (v.18, MSG). ‘And called on the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you”’ (14:11).
This is what it means to be ‘fully committed to the Lord’ (15:17). The result was that Asa’s work was rewarded (v.7) and the Lord his God was with him (v.9). There was peace and rest.
Lord, I want to seek you wholeheartedly, obey you fully and rely on you totally. I pray for rest and peace in my own life, in the church, in our land and between nations.