The Captain Of Our Salvation

Oberammagau Passion Play 4 Sep 2022

'All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.' Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)

On the 4 Sep 2022, 22 members and friends from Charis Methodist Church travelled to Germany to the Bavarian village of Oberammagau. Once every 10 years, the people of this village enact the Passion Play and several thousands from all over the world travelled there to watch the play, recounting from the Old Testament book of Isaiah and the New Testament's Gospels, the atoning work of Jesus Christ. 

750 years before the event, Isaiah prophesied the birth of Christ and wrote of the atoning work of the Saviour, 

'We despised Him and rejected Him; He endured suffering and pain. No one would even look at him. But he endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that His suffering was a punishment sent by God.' Isaiah 53:3-4 (GNB) 

'But because of our sins He was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment He suffered, made whole by the many blows He received.'

Isaiah 53:5 (GNB)

'He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; He never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like as sheep about to be sheared, He never said a word. He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die, and no one cared about His fate. He was put to death for the sins of our people.'

Isaiah 53:7-8 (GNB)

Both St Peter and St Paul wrote of this atonement, paid for, in Jesus Christ 

'He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.' 1 Peter 2:24

'For while we were still helpless, yet at the proper time Christ died for the ungodly. For only rarely will someone die on behalf of a righteous person (for on behalf of a good person possibly someone might even dare to die), but God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' Romans 5:6-8

Henry Scougal (1650-1678) a Scottish theologian and minister, in his short classic 'The Life of God in the Soul of Man' (Ref 1) described Jesus Christ as the Captain of our Salvation. He wrote of the restored relationship that God had provided us through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. "He created us at first in a happy condition; but now that we have fallen from it, He has brought us help through the one who is mighty to save because He has committed the care of our souls to no lesser a person than the eternal Son, the Captain of our salvation." 

Writing of this restored relationship, Scougal wrote, "Happy are they whose souls are awakened to the divine life, and who are renewed in their inward spirits." He observed, "God has a tender regard for the souls of men and is infinitely willing to promote their welfare."

Jesus Christ, the Captain of our Salvation, secured our salvation. He paid the price for the penalty of our sins. What is the meaning of atonement? The original English word is derived from a combination of 'at onement.' It means to 'set as one' or to 'be reconciled.' It also means a restoration and restitution after a price is paid for a wrongdoing. 

This meaning of atonement is excellently conveyed by a song written by Don Moen. 'All We Like Sheep' reflects the core message of Jesus Christ, redeeming us from the penalty of sin, a merit we do not deserve. The song highlights the sinful nature of humanity, and like sheep we strayed from God's path. . 

It acknowledges, Romans 3:23, that we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Yet it also conveys the hope of forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Interposed on the theme of waywardness of mankind, is a longing to return to God's presence. The song assures us that no matter how far we may have strayed, God's love and forgiveness are always available to us; such is the grace of God 

All we like sheep have gone astray

Each of us turning our own separate way

We have all sinned and

Fallen short of Your glory

But Your glory is what we desire to see

And in Your presence is where

We long to be

Oh Lord

Show us your mercy and grace

Take us to Your holy place

Forgive our sin and heal our land

We long to live

In Your presence once again

Taking our sickness, taking our pain

Jesus the sacrifice lamb has been slain

He was despised, 

Rejected by men he took our sins

Draw us near to You

Father through Jesus Your son

Let us worship before

You cleansed by Your Blood

Oh Lord

Show us your mercy and grace

Take us to Your holy place

Forgive our sin and heal our land

We long to live

In Your presence once again

Lionel

Ref 1 Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man. Crossway Short Classic, 2022

Pour Out Your Hearts

Godafoss Waterfall, Iceland

 'Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.' Psalm 62:8

In our relationship with God, we are advised to pour out our hearts to Him. How do we do that? Sometimes we pour as in sprinkling just a little and intermittently. Sometimes we pour out our hearts as in steady streams of water. Rarely but especially in dark times, we pour out our hearts in torrents much like this waterfall in Iceland, a deluge of water, never ending. We come before the Lord our God, bearing all and emptying ourselves to find in God, our refuge and our solution.

Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, was one such person. Her outpouring to God is recorded in the opening chapters of 1 Samuel. She was one of the two wives of Elkanah, the other being Pininnah who had many children whilst Hannah was barren. As a result Hannah was constantly mocked by Pininnah until she could barely sleep. In anguish, Hannah poured out her heart, petitioning God for a son.

'In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.' 1 Samuel 1:10

'Hannah replied, "I am a woman deeply troubled. I was pouring out my soul to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:15

When Hannah poured out her heart to the Lord, it was with such a torrent of prayer, so intense and with so much intent that Eli, the priest of the temple thought that she was drunk with wine.

God heard Hannah and gave her a son eventually, She named him, Samuel meaning 'heard by God.' We know that after raising Samuel to a young boy, she offered him up to serve God in the temple. (By the way the name, 'Hannah' means grace.) 

There is another 'pouring out of the heart to God'; this is the famous prayer in a cave cried out by David when he was relentlessly pursued by King Saul who wanted to kill him.

'I cry out loud for help from the Lord. I beg out loud for mercy from the Lord. I pour out my concerns before God; I announce my distress to Him.' Psalm 142:1-2 (CEB)  

It was a desperate cry for help. Saul, jealous of David and worried that he might usurp the throne decided to get rid of David. Hiding in the cave of Adullam, David felt utterly abandoned, all alone. 

'Look right beside me: See? No one pays attention to me. No one cares about my life.'  Psalms 142:4 (CEB)

There was no one to turn to but God. David invoked the grace and mercy of God and cried out to the Lord for help.

'I cry to you, Lord, for help. "You are my refuge," I say. "You are all I have in the land of the living." Psalms 142:5

Have you experienced dark times? Dark times are extremely difficult and painful periods in one’s life, for example, after the death of a loved one; the break-up of a marriage; or the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness. These dark times may be especially prolonged or especially severe such as the one recorded in Psalms 88; a prayer made out of sheer desperation.

'My whole being is filled with distress; my life is at the very brink of hell. I am considered as one of those plummeting into the pit. I am like those who are beyond help, drifting among the dead, lying in the grave like dead bodies.' Psalm 88:3-5 (CEB) 

What do we do at such times? We turn to God. The most remarkable aspect of Christianity is the honest, sincere and deep relationship established between Creator God and Believing Christians. We pour out our hearts before the Lord God, our creator with torrents of emotions, wholeheartedly,

'Lord, God of my salvation, by day I cry out, even at night, before You - let my prayer reach You! Turn Your ear to my outcry.' Psalms 88:1-2 (CEB) 

Francois Felenon wrote, “Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell God your troubles, that God may comfort you; tell God your joys, that God may sober them; tell God your longings, that God may purify them; tell God your dislikes, that God may help you conquer them; talk to God of your temptations, that God may shield you from them: show God the wounds of your heart, that God may heal them. If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. Talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration say just what you think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved relationship with God.” 

Pour out our hearts and then we will experience the abundant grace of God and His bountiful mercy. There is a wonderful Psalm that gives us this great assurance,

'I will lift my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to be moved; 

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber or sleep.

The Lord is your keeper; 

the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul

The Lord shall preserve your going out and coming in

From this time forth and even forevermore.'

Psalm 121 (NKJV)

 

The Lord will not abandon us!

Lionel

There is no god but GOD

'For the Lord is God, and He created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. "I am the Lord, He says and there is no other"  Isaiah 45:18

Up Close and Personal - this defines the relationship between a Christian and his God, a personal, deep and abiding relationship. This relationship is what makes the Christian faith distinctive. God had always intended this relationship for mankind and it did exist once in the Garden of Eden but it all went wrong. It went wrong when Adam and Eve decided that they wanted to be gods themselves. 

That temptation was recorded in Genesis 3:

'The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. On day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any tree in the garden?" "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied. "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, "You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die." Genesis 3:1-3 (NLT)

"You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." Genesis 3:4 (NLT)

From that time, that original sin, that desire to be gods, mankind became estranged from God until Jesus Christ came. Such is the grace of God that despite the sin, He reaches out to reestablish the broken relationship.

'For this is how God loved the world: he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.' John 3:16,17 (NLT)

Such is the nature of our God, His immense love for mankind, the universe and all of creation; described by this phrase 'there is no god but God'. 

'I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me.' Isaiah 45:5
'That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.' Isaiah 45:6

'Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.' Deuteronomy 4:39
'For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.' Psalm 86:10
'For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God,' Psalm 18:31
'Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.' Isaiah 45:21b

The Book of Isaiah declares the restoration of a broken relationship, the good news, the Gospel. Charles Swindoll (Ref 1) wrote, "Isaiah contains one of the clearest expressions of the gospel in all the Old Testament. Even from the first chapter, it is clear that the people have turned away from God and failed in their responsibilities as His children (Isaiah 1:2–17). Yet God miraculously holds out hope to this unrepentant people, offering cleansing of sins and the blessing that comes with faith and obedience in Him (Isaiah 1:18–20). Salvation lies only in God—the only question is whether or not we will accept His offer."

 

'For I hold you by your right hand - I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, "Don't be afraid. I am here to help you." Isaiah 41:13 (NLT)

"Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depth of His understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youth will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the lord will find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.' Isaiah 40:28:31 (NLT)

'I have called you back from the ends of the earth saying, "You are my servant." For I have chosen you and will not throw you away Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't' be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you with my victorious right hand.' Isaiah 41:9-10 (NLT)

'Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name and you are mine When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fires of oppression you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.' Isaiah 43:1b-2 (NLT)

We've got a great, big, wonderful God and we should learn to walk with Him in a very personal way, 'There is none like You.' 

There is none like You

No one else can touch my heart like You do

I can search for all eternity long

And find there is none like You.

Your mercy flows like a river so wide.

And healing comes from Your hand

Suffering children are safe in Your arms

There is none like you

Lionel
Ref 1: Charles Swindoll. The Bible Teaching Ministry of Charles Swindollhttps://insight.org/resources/bible/the-major-prophets/isaiah

Day By Day

'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord Your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.' Isaiah 43:2-3a

How many of us live as though we entirely depend on God, Day by Day? When you are a cancer patient or suffering from a severe illness, you will learn the meaning behind the phrase 'Living Day by Day in the Palm of God's Hand.' You live with uncertainty, the fluctuations of your blood counts, the up and downs of your energy levels, the vulnerability to infections, with fevers coming and going. You brace yourself for periods of recovery, remission and relapses

During these uncertain times, you will learn to rely on the grace of God, day by day; His mercy and protection. You are encouraged by friends and families praying for you daily; for that you are ever grateful.  

 

Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.' Psalms 50:15

Living Day by Day dependent on the grace and mercy of God is experienced by the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt where they wandered for 40 years in the desert and wilderness. Throughout that period God provided them with manna from heaven but always just sufficient for the day. 

'Then the Lord said to Moses, "I'm going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day.' Exodus 16:4a  

God provides our Physical Needs day by day

Andrew Murray wrote, "Many a soul is disquieted with the thought as to how it will be able to gather and to keep the manna needed for all its years of travel through such a barren wilderness. It has never learnt what unspeakable comfort there is in the word: The day's portion for its day.  Manna, as your food and strength, is given only by the day; faithfully to fill the present is your only security for the future. Accept, and enjoy, and fulfil with your whole heart the part you have this day to perform. His presence and grace enjoyed today will remove all doubt whether you can entrust the morrow to Him too."

Christians who live hand to mouth eking their daily living understand God's provision for our physical needs on a daily basis. Similarly those who are ill and recovering understand how God sustain their bodies on a daily basis. 

God provides our Spiritual Needs day by day

When Jesus taught us to pray the Lord's prayer and one of the petitions is

'Give us today our daily bread.'  Matthew 6:9

Although this phrase can also be taken to mean our daily physical subsistence, it is most likely that Jesus meant spiritual nourishment; our daily sustenance of our soul and spirit. And this is usually provided by the daily inspiration of God's Word. Jesus said 

'It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.' Matthew 4:4

Andrew Murray wrote, "As the lesson of the value and the work of the single day is being taken to heart, the learner is all unconsciously being led on to get the secret of day by day continually."

Day by day, God fulfills our spiritual needs, the bread that satisfies our spiritual needs.

God provides us our Spiritual Blessings day by day

Andrew Murray wrote, "We are so easily led to look at life as a great whole, and to neglect the little to-day, to forget that the single days do indeed make up the whole, and that the value of each single day depends on its influence on the whole. Each day of faithfulness brings a blessing for the next; and so the Christian life grows: as we give our whole heart to the work of each day." 

We live day by day, one step at a time, exercising simple faith that God will provide just what we need, when we need it. Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said, 

'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?' Matthew 6:25 

'And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was not dressed like one of these.' Matthew 6:28-29

Living 'Day by Day' in the palm of God's hand gives all living with cancer and illnesses daily blessings.

'So do not worry, saying,"What shall we eat?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after these things, and you heavenly Father knows that you need them.' Matthew 6:32

Day by day, and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best,

Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,

He whose name is Counsellor and Pow’r.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge that on Himself He laid;

“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”

This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,

So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation,

Offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Jesus said,

'So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.' Matthew 6:34 (NLT)

Be assured that God has you in the palm of His hand. Timothy Keller, who this year succumbed to pancreatic cancer, wrote, “The central basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.” 

Lionel 

Praying In The Spirit

'Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.' Romans 8:26-27

Prayer is communication with God, a communion with the Almighty. As we all know communication can be verbal or non-verbal and that is the same for prayer.

Christian Meditation is often referred to as the prayer of the heart. In meditation we are to sit and keep our body still, then the mind should stay silent and be focused on God. Father John Main, who inspired the World Community of Christian Meditation, would say that we are to set our mind on the Kingdom of God. To help focus the mind, the WCCM recommend repeating silently a mantra, 'Maranatha' which is Aramaic and means 'Come Lord.' At some time in the meditation, though not always, our spirits would soar as the Holy Spirit leads us to a prayer without words. St Paul described such praying as 'praying with my spirit.'

This kind of praying could be distinguished from our usual praying with words, praising God with our adoration, making our confession, offering our thanksgivings and presenting our supplications or petitions (ACTS). We are taught to pray like this when we first become Christians. We could pray vocally or pray silently. A fellow Christian meditator, Andre Croquet use the term, devotional prayer. St Paul described this as 'praying with my mind.'

I would normally spent some time in meditative prayer followed by devotional prayer in the mornings and evenings. Putting the two together, one following another, is a recent spiritual experience for me. I hope to make this a habit from now on. 

Both are important to the growth and spiritual experience of Christians. Whether devotional prayer or meditation prayer, the Holy Spirit comes close and guide us to pray. As St Paul put it, 

'What am I do do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit but I will sing with my mind also.' 1 Corinthians 14:15

 

There is also another term describing prayer, often used in the Bible; 'Praying in the Spirit.' In the Greek the term 'pray in the spirit' generally has two slightly different meanings. It can mean praying with the help of or by means of the Spirit. Or it can also mean praying in connection to or in the sphere of the Spirit. J Oswald Sanders said, 'It is clear that praying in the Spirit means much more than praying by the Spirit's help, although it is included. We pray by means of and in dependence on the Spirit's help but the Spirit is in the atmosphere in which the believer lives. Our prayers will then be, in substance, the same as the intercession of the Spirit within us.' (Ref 1) 

'And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.' Ephesians 6:18

'But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.' Jude 1:20

John Piper said, 'Praying in the Spirit means our prayers are moved and guided by the Holy Spirit. That is, we are prompted to pray by the Holy Spirit; He's awakening it and moving it. And the things that we pray for are being shaped and determined by the Spirit. So, it's His power that carries the prayer, and it's His leading that guides, the prayer.' (Ref 2)

J Oswald Sanders quoted Andrew Murray, 'Just as wonderful and real is the divine work of God on the throne graciously hearing, and by His mighty power answering prayer. Just as divine as is the work of the Son, interceding and securing and transmitting the answer from above, is the work of the Holy Spirit in us in the prayer that awaits and obtains the answer. The intercession within is as divine as the intercession above.

Weakness and inadequacy in the art of prayer are not surprising to God. He never intended that prayer should be left to our own unaided faculties. So He gave the Holy Spirit to instruct, inspire, and illumine our hearts and minds. Unaided by Him, we would be likely to pray for things not only contrary to God’s will but injurious to ourselves.' (Ref 1)

We all do struggle with praying as noted by Andrew Murray. Don Moen also experienced the distance from God as he struggled to find the inspiration to write songs. He said that in that struggle, God led him to write this song 'I will Sing, I will Pray'

Lord you seem so far away

A million miles or more

It feels today

And though I haven't lost my faith

I must confess right now

That it's hard for me to pray

But I don't know what to say

And I don't know where to start

But as you give the grace

With all that's in my heart

I will sing

I will praise

Even in my darkest time

Through the sorrow and the pain

I will sing

I will praise

Lift my hands to honor you

Because your word is true

I will sing

Lord is hard for me to see

All the thought and plans you have for me

But I will put my trust in you

Knowing that you died to set me free (oh thank God you died)

But I don't know what to say (what to say)

And I don't know where to start (where to start)

But as you give the grace

With all that's in my heart

I will sing

I will praise

Even in my darkest time

Through the sorrow and the pain

I will sing

I will praise

Lift my hands to honor you

Because your word is true (say it again)

The Puritans put it very simply, 'Pray until you pray.' This means get on with it, keep on the habit and routine of praying. Do not hurry. Take our time. Just put prayer to practice. Somewhere, somehow, the Holy Spirit will come to meet us and prayer will soon gets hold of us. 

Pray until you pray.

Lionel

Ref 1: J Oswald Sanders Praying in the Spirit 2004https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/praying-in-the-spirit/

Ref 2: John Piper, How do we pray in the Spirit? 2021 

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-we-pray-in-the-spirit