Seven Words On Seven Chapters (John 1-7)

We look at the first seven chapters of John's Gospel. Our seven words are (1) Who; (2) What; (3) Wind; (4) Worship; (5) Wholeness; (6) Word; (7) Witness.

(1) Who is Jesus?

• Chapter 1: (a) the Word (v. 1); (b ) God (v. 1); (c) the life (v. 4); (d) the light of men (v 4 ) and the true light (v. 9); (e) the only begotten Son (v. 18) or the Son of God (vs, 34, 49); (f) the Lamb of God (vs. 29, 36); (g) Master (v. 38); (h) the Messiah or the Christ (v. 41); (i) the King of Israel (v. 49); (j) the Son of Man (v.51).

We focus our attention on another description of Jesus - "this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (v.33). This is based on the Spirit's descending, like a dove, to abide on Jesus (vs.32-33).

(2) What kind of Spirit does Jesus baptize us with? What kind of Spirit does He pour out upon us? What kind of Spirit does He give to us to live in us?

• Chapter 2: The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). To answer the question, "What kind of Spirit does Jesus baptize us with?", we look at Jesus Himself.

In chapter 2, we see the grace (vs.1-10), glory (v. 11) and holiness (vs. 13-22) of the Lord Jesus.

In these three words - grace, glory and holiness, we have a description of the work of the Spirit in the whole course of the Christian life.

• The beginning of the Christian life is grace.
• The destination of the Christian life is glory.
• The way by which we travel from grace to glory is the way of holiness.

The life in the Spirit is the way which takes us from grace to glory in the highway of holiness.

(3) The wind of the Spirit (3:8)

The Christian life is to be a life of going with the wind of the Spirit, and not against the wind of the Spirit (3:8).

The fourfold direction of the wind of the Spirit (3:16): The wind of the Spirit blows us in the direction of (a) the love of God; (b) the Saviour; (c) faith in Christ; (d) eternal life.

The life which goes with the wind of the Spirit, and not against the wind of the Spirit, is a life which is becoming, increasingly, more Christ-centred and, increasingly, less self-centred.: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (3:30).

This Christ-centred life in the Spirit is a life which is characterized by worship (chapter 4), wholeness (chapter 5), the Word (chapter 6) and witness (chapter 7).

(4) Worship in the Spirit and in truth (4:24)

Worship in the Spirit is not, simply, a warm feeling inside, a pleasant emotion which says, "I enjoyed that." It is not, simply, a vague inward spirituality which is characterized by inner contentment. Worship in the Spirit , true spiritual worship focuses attention not so much on our feelings but on Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us.

What we must remember is this: When we speak about the Spirit, we are speaking about the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit who delights to glorify Jesus Christ and to point us to Him, who is the Saviour of the world.

This is true spiritual worship - worship which leads us to magnify and exalt Jesus Christ, worship that leads us to give glory to the Saviour who love us and gave Himself for us, to give praise to the Christ who was crucified for us, to give honour to the Lord who was raised from the dead for us, to sing "Hallelujah" to the King who is coming again for us.

When the Spirit of God is at work in our worship, He will lead us to say of Jesus Christ, "this is indeed the Saviour of the world" (4:42).

(5) Wholeness in the Spirit

When we are truly worshipping in the Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ will ask us this challenging question, "Do you want to be made whole?" (5:6).

He calls us to leave behind the old life, which is characterized by the weakness of the flesh. He calls us to live the new life, which is characterized by wholeness in the Spirit.

"Do you want to be made whole?"

The first essential for experiencing the mighty power of the Spirit of God is an intense desire for the Spirit of revival and renewal to be at work among us.

"Do you want to be made whole?"

Jesus Christ will pour upon us the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of revival and renewal, as you and I say, "Yes, Lord, I want you to do this for me?"

"Do you want to be made whole?"

(6) The Word of God and he Spirit of God

The call to wholeness comes to us through the Word of God. The Spirit of God speaks to us through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures.

The contrast between the Spirit and the flesh (3:6) is re-emphasized in 6:63.

While the Spirit and the flesh are contrasted, the Spirit and the Word are not set against each other. The Spirit and the Word belong together. The Spirit uses the Word to bring us out of the weakness of the flesh and into the wholeness which is ours through faith in Christ.

(7) Witness (7:37-39)

This wholeness, which comes to us through the Spirit and the Word, is not for our own benefit only. The Spirit uses the Word to point us to Christ - the source of our wholeness, so that we, in turn, might point others to the Saviour.

When the Lord Jesus speaks of "rivers of living waters", He does not say that they will flow into the believer's heart. He says that they will flow out of the believer's heart.

The Spirit is given to us on the basis of Jesus' glorification - His death, resurrection and ascension. Because Jesus, the Lamb of God, has died to take away the sin of the world, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that we might share this good news with our needy world.

The Spirit empowers us for the work of mission, Christ's mission in the world.

• Ezekiel 47 - the development of Christ's mission
•  vs.3-5: ankle-deep - Jerusalem; knee-deep - Judea; up to the loins - Samaria; deep enough to swim in - the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
• v. 6: "Son of man, have you seen this?"

• Revelation 22 - the outcome of Christ's mission, the healing of the nations (v. 3); reigning for ever and ever (v. 5).

Being Justified By God Begins When We Stop Trying To Justify Ourselves.

"he wanted to justify himself" (Luke 10:29).

Justifying ourselves is the exact opposite of being justified by God. Justifying ourselves - This is about saying, 'I'm right. I haven't done anything wrong.' Being justified by God - This is about saying, 'I have sinned. I need to be forgiven.' How can we receive forgiveness if we don't think we've done anything wrong? Receiving God's forgiveness begins with our confession: ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’ (Luke 18:13). What does Jesus say about the man who prayed this prayer? - "This man ... went home justified before God" (Luke 18:14).

The Word Of God - Christ, Scripture, Preaching

If I were to go around the congregation and ask you, "Why have you come to this church service?", I'm sure I would get quite a variety of different answers. Some of you, if you were being perfectly honest, might have to say, "I came because I've got into a routine of coming to church on a Sunday." If this is what you're thinking, that's very sad. How can you expect to get anything out of the service, if you have only come to church because it's part of your weekly routine?

Others may say, "I feel that I must come because it's my duty." There's a sense in which this is true, yet, if that's all that brings you to church, you're missing a great deal. Such an attitude is surely a far cry from the attitude of the Psalmist: "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" (Psalm 122:1),

Others may say, "I've come to church to hear the minister speak." Yes. You will hear the minister speaking, but if you do not come to church, expecting God to speak to you through the minister, you will get very little from the church service.

We must come to hear more than the minister. We must come to hear God speaking to us. We must come for more than meeting other Christians. We must come to meet with God.

This brings us to the very heart of why we come to the church service - encounter with God.

We come to God as part of a worshipping, believing and praying fellowship of His people. We come, seeking to meet with Him. We come to worship Him, to pray to Him and to hear His Word.

Let's think together about hearing the Word of God.

What do we mean when we say "the Word of God"?

Often, our answer is given very quickly. Without much thought, we say, the Bible."

Do you know that, if you were to stop and think about the richness and the depth that there is in the phrase, "the Word of God", you would be both greatly blessed greatly challenged?

What do we use words for?

- We use words when we think.

- We use words when we speak to one another.

We use words to communicate our thoughts.

When we speak about "the Word of God", what we are saying is this; God has not kept His thoughts to Himself. He has shared His thoughts with us. He has told us about the love He has for us. He has opened His heart to us. He did not wait for us to come to Him. He has come to us. He has taken the initiative. He did not leave us groping around in the darkness, trying to make sense of our life. He has spoken to us of His love for us.

What a wonderful message He speaks to us!

- "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

- "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16).

- "God showed His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Think of these wonderful word, and let your heart be moved by the wonder of God's love for you. He loved so much that He sent His Son to die for you,

In the Bible, we find that "the Word of God" has three meanings:

- Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 1:1).

- Scripture is the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).

- The preached Word is described as the Word of God (Acts 4:31).

Let's think together about these three ways in which the Bible speaks about the Word of God.

• First, Christ is the Word of God. This is the most fundamental meaning of the Word of God.

We do not really benefit from the Word of God in Scripture and preaching if we do not see Christ in them.

The aim of both Scripture and preaching is to point us to Christ.

It is Christ who is God's Word to us. It is Christ who is the Gospel. It is Christ who is God's way of salvation.

I remember, sitting in a meeting, listening to a godly man, reading and preaching God's Word. Before he began to preach, he prayed, "Lord, hide this preacher behind the Cross so that the only One who is seen is Jesus." Ne stated his text: It was these four words: "the Lord Jesus Christ." He spoke of how He loved to give Jesus His full title: "the Lord Jesus Christ." He emphasized that giving Jesus His full title helped us to see Him in all His fullness. He took us to some of the names that the Bible uses when it speaks to us of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was, for me, a rich experience as, together with others, we turned our eyes upon Jesus. As we looked from the preacher to Jesus, as we learned from the Scriptures about Jesus, I came to a deeper appreciation of something very important: Jesus Christ is the Word of God spoken to us by God Himself. Here, we see the great purpose of Scripture and true Gospel preaching. Both are given to us for this purpose - to lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Second, the Scriptures have been given to us by God. They have been given to us so that we might be led to Jesus, our Saviour. Jesus says to us, "It is the Scriptures that bear witness to Me" (John 5:39). Jesus taught His disciples "in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27). The apostles sought to point to Jesus from the Scriptures (Acts 17:2-3). If we truly hear and understand the Scriptures, we will open our hearts to Jesus Christ. The Scriptures speak to us God's Word. They say to us, "Consider Jesus."
• Third, the Bible speaks to us of the preaching of the Word of God. To preach the Word of God is to preach Christ [Romans 10:17 - "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (KJV) / the preaching of Christ (RSV)].

Paul sought to know and make known Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2; 1:23). He sought to be unashamed of the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16). He sought to glory only in the Cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14).

This is true preaching. It is more than a minister, giving his thoughts on one thing or another. It is the proclamation of Christ.

When Christ is proclaimed, God is pleased to come, by His Spirit, and bring men and women to faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:21).

What is your attitude to the preaching of the Gospel? Do you come to hear a preacher? or Do you come to hear God speaking to you? If you come to hear God, this is the Word you will hear - "Consider Jesus." This is what God says to you and me.

He directs our attention to Jesus. He says, "This is My Beloved Son, hear Him" (Matthew 17:5).

Can you hear God speaking to you? This is what He's saying to you: "If today you hear God's voice, do not harden your hearts" (Hebrews 4:7).

Jesus Christ is God's Word to you. He is God's Word of salvation. He is God's Son. He is our Saviour. Will you listen to His voice? He's calling you to come to Him.Will you receive Him as your Saviour?

Listening To Jesus

"Mary ... sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He said" (Luke 10:39).

What was the difference between Martha and Mary? Was it, "Martha did everything. Mary did nothing"? 

No! There was something that Martha didn't do. She didn't sit at the Lord's feet and listen to what He said. There was something that Mary did do. What Martha didn't do was "the one thing" (Luke 10:42) that Mary did do. "Mary ... sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He said." 

Sitting at the Lord's feet, listening to what He says to us. Is this a waste of time? That's what some people tell us. It's not what Jesus tells us. 

When Martha criticized Mary - "Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ (Luke 10:40), Jesus had an answer for her - ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ (Luke 10:41-42).

A House Of Prayer, A Life Of Prayer

"a house of prayer" (Matthew 21:13)

Our whole life is to be "a house of prayer" - centred  on God, shaped by prayer. This means more than going to a place that is called "a house of prayer." God is calling us to a life of prayer. He's calling us to be prayerful people, people who love to be in His presence. Where are we to begin? - We must begin with the prayer - "God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18: 13). We must begin with this - "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). Everything good comes from this staring-point: "in me, there is no good thing" (Romans 7:18). The "good thing" - salvation - has to come to us from outside of ourselves. It has to be given to us by Jesus, our Saviour. When we begin here - how great is our sin, how great is our Saviour, we begin in the right place, the place where spiritual growth begins.

Lamentations

The title―Lamentations ― suggests human sadness. There is, however, something else here ― divine faithfulness. At the heart of this short book, we find this great declaration ― ‘Great is thy faithfulness’ (3:23). Knowing God as the God of great faithfulness involves looking beyond our circumstances and our feelings.
Israel’s circumstances were depressing. Jerusalem had fallen. The Temple had been destroyed. Depression seemed to be the mood of the moment. Humanly speaking, things did not look good. Israel had known better times. The Lord’s people had wandered from the Lord. The people of God knew little of the power of God. This was not, however, the whole story. The faithful God had not given up on his wayward people. He assured them that they would again have good reason to say ― ‘Great is thy faithfulness’. We could easily miss the five chapters of Lamentations. Hidden away between the fifty two chapters of Jeremiah and the forty eight chapters of Ezekiel, they hardly catch the eye. The title ― Lamentations ― hardly grabs our attention. It would be a great pity ― for us ― if we overlooked this testimony to God’s faithfulness. Here, we have a message of great contemporary relevance. Lamentations was written at a time, strikingly similar to our own day. God’s people had been taken captive. They lived in an alien environment. This is the story of our own nation in the twenty-first century. We live in a secularized society, a society in which there is little sense of God’s presence. Our society is a materialistic society, a society which has made money its ‘god’. The people of God are a people under pressure. We are tempted to become prisoners of our circumstances, prisoners of our feelings. We look at our circumstances, and we feel ‘desolate’ (1:4) and ‘despised’ (1:11). In our discouragement, we cry to God: ‘O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!’ (1:9). What did God say to Israel in their time of distress? He spoke to them of his great faithfulness, his readiness to revive his work. This is the message which we must hear in our day. It is a message which will draw out from our hearts that great confession of faith ― ‘Great is thy faithfulness’. How are we to live for Christ in the twenty-first century? We must live with realism, and we must live by faith. We need realism if we are to look honestly at our present circumstances. Looking beyond those circumstances calls for faith ― faith in the God of great faithfulness. The Church’s present situation is aptly yet sadly described in the words ― ‘How the gold has grown dim’ (4:1). We can come to God only in confession of sin ― ‘O Lord ... see our disgrace’ (5:1). We look at our secularized society, and we acknowledge that ‘our inheritance has been turned over to strangers’ (5:2). We look at the secularization of the Church, and we acknowledge that ‘our homes (have been turned over) to aliens’ (5:2).
We look into our own hearts and lives, and we acknowledge that ‘the joy of our hearts has ceased; (and) our dancing has been turned to mourning’ (5:15). In the world of today and the Church of today, it is not easy to rejoice in our hearts. It is even more difficult to be joyful in testifying for the Lord. We must seek a positive answer to the question, ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:4).
Israel’s difficulty in singing the Lord’s song is emphasized by the sad fact that ‘Mount Zion ... lies desolate’ (5:8). This is the situation, which is described in Psalm 137:1 ― ‘By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion’. In this situation, the ‘tormentors’ of God’s people mockingly say, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ (Psalm 137:3). When we are faced with similar circumstances, we are forced to ask, ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ How are we to do this? Are we to hide our heads in the sand, run away from our difficult circumstances and escape into pious emotion? This is what we must not do. We must face our circumstances honestly. This is realism.
We dare not ignore the reality of our situation. There is, however, another reality of which we must take account ― the reality of God, the God concerning whom we say, with faith, ‘Great is thy faithfulness’. By faith, we look beyond our circumstances to our God: ‘But thou, O Lord, dost reign for ever; thy throne endures to all generations’ (5:19). To believe in God’s faithfulness is to believe that his ‘throne endures to all generations’. God is still on the throne. There is no question of ‘God used to be on the throne, but now he is no lnger on the throne’. We have heard what the so-called ‘Death of God’ theologians have had to say for themselves.
We have also heard what the book of Lamentations says for God: ‘Great is thy faithfulness’. Having heard the voice of God, in the midst of the voices of unbelief, we affirm our faith in the living God. God is still on the throne. For ever, he reigns. His throne endures to all generations. This is the faith which inspired Israel in their captivity. This is the faith with which we move forward in the twenty-first century. It is the faith which transforms our feelings. By faith, we bring our feelings to God. Like Israel, we may feel forgotten and forsaken (5:20). In God’s presence, we exchange our feelings ― forgotten and forsaken ― for his blessings ― restoration and renewal: ‘Restore us to thyself, O Lord ... Renew our days as of old!’ (5:21).

In the Lord’s presence, we become convinced of God’s faithfulness. He has not forgotten us, and he will not forget us. He has not forsaken us, and he will not forsake us. In our prayer for restoration and renewal, we bring our circumstances and feelings to God, refusing to be overwhelmed by them.
We pray with urgency, conscious of our great need of restoration and renewal. Prisoners of circumstances and feelings, we pray ― with faith ― that the chains will start falling and the changes will start happening. In prayer, we look back ― with thanksgiving ― to past blessings, and we look forward ― in hope ― to future blessing. We remember what God has done in ‘days ... of old’, and our faith grows ― God reigns for ever and his throne endures to all generations. Strengthened in faith, we pray, ‘Renew our days as of old!’ The restoration and renewal for which we must pray is the restoration of our walk with God ― 'He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake’ (Psalm 23:3) ― and the renewal of our witness for God ― ‘Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?’ (Psalm 85:6). Walking with God and witnessing for God, we are sustained by the joy of the Lord. In this Book with such an unpromising name ― ‘Lamentations’ ― the joy of the Lord comes shining through. Looking beyond our circumstances to the Lord, we are able, with joy, to affirm our faith: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end’ (3:22). The steadfast love of the Lord may also be described as his faithful love. His love is love, unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. Rejoicing in such love, we praise God’s faithfulness: ‘Great is thy faithfulness’ (3:23).

Through the faithful love of God, we are given a testimony: ‘The Lord is my portion’. With this testimony, we face the future with the courage of faith: ‘I will hope in him’ (3:24). In our walk with God, this testimony ― ‘The Lord is my portion’ ― is an expression of the joyful faith which finds its true satisfaction in the Lord. We speak of  'a good portion’ and ‘a satisfying meal’. Those who have found that ‘none but Christ can satisfy’ have this testimony: ‘The Lord is my portion’. Assured of God’s faithful love ― a love which is completely trustworthy, utterly reliable and entirely dependable, we confidently affirm, ‘The Lord is my portion’. This faith is no secondhand faith. It may be a faith which reflects on the Lord’s dealing with the whole body of his people but it is, nevertheless, a personal faith ―‘The Lord is my portion’. In Christ, we have received the full portion of God’s blessing. As ‘his sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ’, we have received ‘every spiritual blessing’ (Ephesians 1:4-5). For once, the ‘child’s portion’ is the ‘full portion!’ Knowing Christ as ‘the bread of life’ (John 6:35) and ‘the living water’ (John 4:10, 13-14 and John 7:37-38), we gladly say ‘The Lord is my portion’. Those who have begun to walk with God are also to witness for him. Those who have the personal testimony ‘The Lord is my portion’ ― are to say to others, ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34:8). We have found Christ. We are to share him with others. We have come to know Christ. We are to make him known Surprising though it may seem, the Book of Lamentations can be of some value in the preaching of the gospel. A book bearing the unlikely title ― ‘Lamentations’ ― hardly creates the impression that it will be
of any real use in the proclamation of ‘good news’. The desolation of God’s people in the twenty first century is so reminiscent of the desolation of which we read in Lamentations. Many watch what is going on in our generation, and they wonder, ‘Where is the Word of the Lord’ in all this? (Jeremiah 17:15) The sadness which pervades so much of Lamentations reflects the mood of many of the Lord’s people in our day ― longing for better times, for the ‘days ... of old’ (5:21). Ours is an age of many questions and, so it seems, few answers. Lamentations is a book which ends with questions, ‘Why dost thou forget us for ever, why dost thou so long forsake us? ... Or hast thou utterly rjected us? Art thou exceedingly angry with us?’ (5:20, 22). So often, modern man expects no answer to his questions. In Lamentations, these questions are set in the context of believing affirmation ― ‘But thou, O Lord, dost reign for ever; thy throne endures to all generations’ (5:19) ― and earnest prayer ― ‘Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old!’ (5:21). How are we to bring good news to a world that is living with questions, a world that shows little inclination to believe the confession of faith ― ‘Thou, O Lord, doest reign for ever’ ― and little interest in praying the fervent prayer ― ‘Restore us to thyself, O Lord’? This is a question which calls for a practical response. It demands a response which will take into account the questions which men and women are asking in this generation. To speak of questions ― some spoken in the context of prayer and faith, and others asked with little expectation of an answer ― is to acknowledge that there are many different types of questions.
This may be brought out clearly through a brief review of the questions asked in the Book of Lamentations. In 1:12, we have a question put to those who despise the Lord’s people, ‘Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?’. In 2:12, there is the question asked by ‘infants and babes faint(ing) in the streets of the city’(2:11) -  ‘Where is bread and wine?’ In 2:13, there are questions which raise the question of the comfort and restoration of a fallen people: ‘What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you that may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For vast as the sea is your ruin; who can restore you?’ The question of the cynics who ‘hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem’ is found in 2:15 ― ‘Is this the city which was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?’ In 2:20, we have questions asked in the mood of prayerful moral indignation: ‘Look, O Lord, and see! With whom hast thou dealt thus? Should women eat their offspring, the children of their tender care? Should priest and prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord?’

Moving into the third chapter, we find this triology of questions at vs. 37-39: ‘Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?’ There are so many different questions being asked today.
They are being asked by different people. They are being asked in different ways and with different expectations. What do the question of  Lamentations have to say to our day, a day of many questions? They may prompt the modern questioner to think about the question he’s not asking as well as the questions he is asking ― ‘Perhaps, there is a God who has his own questions to put to me.’ Lamentations asks its questions within the context of the great declaration of faith : ‘Great is thy faithfulness’ (3:23). This combination of intense questioning and confident faith might well increase the questioner’s expectation of an answer ― an answer which while it may leave some questions unresolved, opens the doors to faith. As we face modern man’s questions, we must ‘be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks us to give a reason for our hope’ (1 Peter 3:15). In giving an answer, we dare not imagine that we can ever hope to give a complete answer to every question. We must always remember that ‘the secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us’ (Deuteronomy 29:29). The answer which we give is not our answer. It is God’s answer.
Man’s question has been answered by God. He has answered it in person. The God of faithfulness ― the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14) ― is God’s answer to mans question. The answer which we give must always be a Christ-centred answer. We may now focus special attention on two of the questions asked in Lamentations ‘Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?’ (1:12), and ‘Where is bread and wine?’ (2:12). We read these questions in connection with two other questions, the first two questions asked in the Bible: ‘the serpent ... said to the woman, “Did God say ... ?” ’ (Genesis 3:1), and ‘the Lord God called to the man..., “Where are you?” ‘ (Genesis 3:9). Taking these four questions together, we may find a helpful pattern for thinking about Christian witness in today’s world. The Bible’s first question was asked by neither God nor man. It was asked by ‘the serpent’ ― ‘that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan’ (Revelation 20:2). We do not introduce the devil here in order to provide ourselves with an excuse for our unbelief. After all, Scripture tells us that ‘each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire’ (James 1:14). Rather, we speak of Satan’s question ― ‘Did God say?’ in order to emphasize that many of today’s questions arise from unbelief, and not from faith seeking understanding. We speak of the Satanic origin of the Bible’s first question in order to stress that, in today’s world, we are involved in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:12), when we seek to bring the modern questioner from one form of questioning ― the questioning of unbelief ― to another very different form of questioning ― faith seeking understanding. We must  eckon with the activity of Satan when we encounter the questioning which arises from unbelief‘the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4;4). How is the problem of unbelief to be overcome? Unbelief gives way to faith, only when God is at work in the human heart: ‘it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6). The emergence of faith in the human heart is the work of ‘the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:2). If we are to combat unbelief effectively, our evangelism must be God―centred. We proclaim the God of love, the God who sent his Son ‘to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10). God has not changed. He is still the God of love. He still calls out to the lost, ‘Where are you?’. In love, he still invites the sinner to return to him. His love is a yearning love, a passionate love, a love which says to the indifferent: ‘Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?’. His love for us is a love which draws out from our hearts a returning love ― ’Loving him who first loved me’. Touched by the love of God, the modern questioner finds that the character of his questioning begins to change. The question of the unbeliever gives way to the question of the seeker: ‘Where is bread and wine?’. There is a hunger and thirst which the world cannot satisfy, a hunger and thirst which can be satisfied only by the One whose body was broken for us and whose blood was shed for us. ‘Where is bread and wine?’ It is not the ‘bread’ and ‘wine’ of this world, which satisfies the deepest need of the human heart. It is Jesus Christ ‘the bread of Life’ (John 6:48), ‘the true vine’ (John 15:1). ‘Where is bread and wine?’ This is the question of the seeking heart. To those who are truly seeking, Jesus says, ‘You will find’ (Matthew 7:7). Why do we start asking the seeker’s question? His love lays hold on us. What do we find when we truly seek? His love. The love which prompted us to seek is the love which we find in Jesus Christ. Evangelism, when it is truly God-centred, will also be Christ-centred. Evangelism, which is both God―centred and Christ-centred, becomes effective through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is witness for Christ, which is grounded in walking in the Spirit. True evangelism is grounded in care and prayer. If we truly desire to see the mighty blessing of God in our day, we must care for those who are living without Christ, and we must pray for them. Caring and praying ― both are vital if we are to be really used by the Lord to bring his blessing into the lives of others. Caring for those who have yet to find the Saviour, we invite them to consider the question of 1:12 ― ‘Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?’. Praying for them, we pray that they will ask the seeker’s question ― ‘Where is bread and wine?’ (2:12). Caring and praying, we are ― by our lives and our words ― to invite men and women to consider Jesus Christ and to discover for themselves what w e can do in their lives. As we seek to be faithful to God in our Christian walk and witness, we will discover ― despite all the difficulties facing the Christian Faith and the Christian Church ― the great truth which lies at the heart of Lamentations ― ‘Great is thy faithfulness’.

Jesus Christ, the “Rock of our salvation”, the “precious Cornerstone”, the “solid Foundation”

Isaiah 28-30

Isaiah speaks words of prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, the “Rock of our salvation”, the “precious Cornerstone”, the “solid Foundation” (Isaiah 28:16). Jesus Christ gives us the blessings of God’s salvation - “the deaf will hear the words, written in the book. The blind will see out of their gloom and darkness. Humble people again will find joy in the Lord” (Isaiah 29:18-19). With the Gospel proclamation - in Christ, there is full salvation - comes an appeal to come to Him and receive the blessings, promised to us by the God of love: “This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says, You can be saved by returning to Me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting Me” (Isaiah 30:15). The Lord is looking for our response. He longs to pour out His blessing on those who put their trust in Him: “The Lord is waiting to be kind to you. He rises to have compassion on you. The Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him” (Isaiah 30:18). To those who put their trust in Him,the Lord gives His promise. He will lead them in the pathway of obedience, which is the highway of holiness - “You will hear a voice behind you, saying, This is the way. Follow it” (Isaiah 30:21).