(April 2001 Edition)
Editorial - The Memorial Service
Editorial - Nehemiah's Prayers
Quiz - What Do You Know About Nehemiah
Editorial
The Memorial Service
No ecclesia that is separated in spirit – through erroneous doctrine, divisiveness, schism, faction, spite, selfishness, pride, pharisaism, slackness, or whatever -- can really partake of the body and blood of the Lord. Jesus is the way and the truth. When everything is centred on him, all troubles, misunderstandings, strife, sedition, bickerings, will flee away. The memorial service is compared to the Jewish Passover: only those inside the house are saved (Exo. 12:48).
The memorial service is a time and a place for reconciliation, a time of praise and true worship of our heavenly Father. It is there above all that we remember that our Saviour reconciled us all to our God. What place is there for pride, for exalting of one’s own (non-existent) purity as if it was not our Lord who saves? (Rom. 3:27). Are we not there to remember the greatest love ever shown – a man who laid down his life for sinners, his friends? However can we afford to miss this precious "tryst" with Christ, as our hymn 180 describes the breaking of bread? How dare we deny it to other believers?
Beware denying others
Sadly, there are some – even some who preside at the Lord’s table – who
seem to be more concerned to keep his sheep away than to distribute his grace among
all who need it.
Baptism into Christ gives the believer the wonderful privilege of sharing – that is, fellowshipping – his body and blood (John 6:54,63). This is a blessing which no man can lightly take away. For we all have a desperate need for fellowship and communion, a need to renew our vows frequently. We are at the Lord’s table to be renewed and restored ourselves, not as watchdogs for others. There is a place and a time for dealing with others’ faults (Gal. 6:1). It is not at the Table of the Lord. We are there to meet the Lord. Our brothers and sisters are there for his scrutiny, not ours. Never forget: we go not to display our deeds, or proclaim our state of righteousness, but to rejoice in and share the tokens of forgiveness.
The whole notion of arrogance and fault-finding vanishes at the Lord’s table. If we come into the presence of God with hatred, malice, and envy, we crucify the Son of God afresh. We fail to discern the Lord’s body. We eat and drink to our damnation. For the body of Christ is there on the benches beside us, before us, behind us. How dare we pick and choose who among Christ’s little ones we will deign to meet with? How come we share the same name, the same truth, the same blessings, the same salvation, the same grace, the same forgiveness – but not the same table?
Providing for all members
Every ecclesia must make provision for brethren and sisters who are unable to attend
the memorial service and share in this fellowship because of illness, age or isolation.
This is not an option. It is a requirement. And we should always remember these less
fortunate ones in our prayers.
The memorial service helps the believer, transforms his character, helps him to examine himself more profoundly. There is unspeakable joy in the heart of the forgiven sinner as he partakes of the symbols of the body and blood of his Lord and Saviour. Caribbean Christadelphians for a hundred years and more have known no greater joy than to meet together in unity, unmarred by divisions or bitterness. I have seen, at this solemn moment, tears of joy and thankfulness trickle down a saint’s face as he or she gains the strength to face the terrible hardships in the world outside.
David, always thrilled by communion with his God, said: "In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." The quiet joy of those lovely moments at his table sustains us in days of sadness. Christ is ours and we are his. Our hearts are full of praise and penitence before our Maker. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" (John 6:53).
Gerzel Gordon
"Remember me, O my God"
Nehemiah was a great leader of God’s people. He was a wonderful leader because his mind and heart were filled with, and moved by, the spirit of God. He was spiritually minded because he "prayed continually and gave thanks in all circumstances" (I Thess. 17-18).
Eleven prayers of Nehemiah’s are on record in the book that bears his name. Although that book is filled with drama and action, more than a fifth of the narrative chapters, nearly two thousand words, are words of prayer.
A godly leader
Many commentators seem to think that Nehemiah was an "alpha male," a natural
or born leader. I doubt it. Natural leaders are rarely men of prayer. They think that they
can do without it. Their pride and self-confidence somehow get in the way, and when they
do pray under duress, God neither listens nor answers (I Sam. 28:15-16).
It is far more likely that Nehemiah was a leader by conscience. That is to say, a naturally diffident and retiring individual, whose leadership qualities come from God, and who is constrained by the love of God to assume leadership reluctantly but firmly in a time of crisis. When God needs such men and women, He does not choose born leaders. He selects humble men and women of prayer and forges them as steel in the furnace of fiery trial.
It is obvious that Nehemiah needed to pray, desperately. To pray about God’s work, God’s people, his brethren, and only lastly about himself. Without prayer, he was insecure and afraid. Empowered by it, he was able to unmask intrigue, expose bogus brethren, face calumny and hostility, and "deny himself" – in the manner of the King of kings – and make himself poor that his "brethren" might have enough and be satisfied (Neh. 5:18; II Cor. 8:9).
The eleven prayers
His first prayer was a sincere confession: "I confess the sins we
Israelites, including myself, have committed" (1:6). After many preliminaries,
he finally dares to come to the crucial issue: "Give your servant success today by
granting him favour in the presence of the man [Artaxerxes, his employer]" (v.11).
The second prayer was a brief and silent cry from the heart for courage, fluency and wisdom in making a wildly audacious request for plenipotentiary powers to rebuild the Holy City of Jerusalem (2:4).
His third prayer was for boldness to cope with insults (4:4). Many of us need to pray that prayer. Prayer is the way God would have us deal with insults.
The fourth prayer was simple and to the point: "Remember me, O my God, in your mercy, for all I have done for these people" (5:19).
The fifth prayer was even simpler. People were trying to frighten him, and make him give up his work for God. "Now strengthen my hands," he pleads (6:9).
His sixth prayer was uttered when he had his back against the wall – as we all have sometimes – and he was in despair. His enemies seemed to have almost won the day. He had been discredited and his good name dragged in the mud by an influential sister in the church. "Remember, O my God" (6:14).
Nehemiah’s seventh recorded prayer was his great confession and petition at the Water Gate Bible School. Interestingly, it follows a similar structure to our Lord’s model prayer. It begins with a magnificent expansion of "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name."
"Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you" (9:5-6).
(Incidentally, when a college professor I know used that passage as a theme for his college course in environmental science, a student afterwards testified that it had changed his whole outlook on the world and his own life.) Only after the humblest confession and yet more confession does Nehemiah finally come to the real issue: "But see, we are in great distress." O that we, when we are in great distress, might pray as Nehemiah prayed that day!
The last four prayers are short expansions of the thematic refrain, "Remember, O my God." It is said that the Hebrew expression implies pricking God’s conscience, as it were. The eighth begs God to remember -- in the future day of judgment, obviously – his faithful efforts. The ninth longs for God’s mercy and love. The tenth is a prayer dealing with the misdeeds of the high priest and some of his family, obnoxious individuals who had treated Nehemiah and his crusade for godliness with contempt. Finally, the eleventh is a simple concluding prayer, perhaps a better concluding prayer than many of our wordy efforts in such circumstances: "In your mercy, remember me, O my God."
Alan Eyre
Quiz - What Do You Know About Nehemiah
- What was Nehemiah’s job in Shushan?
- What was his request to Artaxerxes?
- What did Tobiah the Ammonite say about a fox?
- Why did Shemaiah try to persuade Nehemiah to go into the temple, even though he was not a priest?
- What was Nehemiah’s response to Shemaiah?
- At what event did Nehemiah say, "Go and enjoy choice food"?
- What prophetess tried to "intimidate" Nehemiah?
- Nehemiah arranged two choirs of singers. What did he tell them to do (besides sing!)?
- Why was Nehemiah angry with some men and "pulled out their hair"?
At the Lord's Table - Priorities
Our late brother Glen Isaacs exhorted the Free Hill
Ecclesia in Jamaica on January 10 1993.
The New Testament reading was Matthew 12. Reproduced from the notes he left behind.
Jesus always turns our ‘natural’ human values and priorities upside down. This chapter presents three respects in which our Lord did just that.
Priority number one: "Do good!" (v. 12)
The priority of the holy men was formal righteousness: it was cold and outward, almost
a heartless thing. It consisted principally of formal praying, outward demonstration of
piety, avoiding work on certain days, and avoiding ritual defilement.
Jesus’ priority was then, and is now, a warm inward godliness, "doing good" because of a deep love inside the heart (vv. 1-13). The holy men’s righteousness will assist a sheep, because it represents economic value, but will totally ignore a man or woman in trouble because they have some church activities to attend to, and turn a deaf ear to the cries of a hungry fellow human. Jesus’ priority is to deal compassionately with human need.
So, firstly, never, never let our religious observances within the church be so formal and pharisaical that our priority is our own holiness and our own salvation.
Priority number two: "Speak good!" (v. 34).
In speech, the priority of the holy men was justifying themselves, while criticizing
and condemning others. They criticized everything Jesus did. Their words were
"idle words" (v. 36) – hurtful, unkind, ungracious words, full of malice,
envy and conceit.
Jesus, in contrast, wants our speech to consist of words that uplift, support and encourage. His plain teaching, that we will have to give account in the day of judgment for every idle word we speak, has seemed to some people tough and almost unmerciful. Not at all. He is reminding us of the obvious truth that idle and malicious words reveal an idle and malicious heart. We will not only give account of our idle words, but the very words themselves, Jesus insists, will guarantee our rejection at the judgment.
So, secondly, speaking often one to another with holy, kind, and loving speech must be one of our priorities, or we shall find the door of the Kingdom closed in our face.
Priority number three: Build up the family of God (v. 50)
It was natural for Jesus’ own personal family to think that they ought to be the
first priority in his life, and they tried to tell him that plainly (v. 47). If, as is
possible, Joseph was already dead, then Jesus would be expected, as the firstborn, to take
full responsibility for supporting the family. But Jesus was not impressed. For him,
spiritual not fleshly values and concerns were paramount. He had to drive that lesson home
as usual by posing questions, "Who is my mother? And who are my brethren" (v.
49).
There was surely nothing wrong in Mary and his half-brothers wanting to see him and perhaps bring him some family problem. The issue was simply one of priorities. They expected him to drop everything right there and then, leave the meeting, and go outside and deal with family business. Clearly they thought that they should be more important to Jesus than the work of his God, or the people he was dedicated to saving.
They were not more important. I am sure that even if they had been believers at the time (they were not), then Jesus’ response would have been exactly the same. There is nothing wrong in our mother calling us, or our wife expecting our reasonable attention and concern, provided that blood and family ties do not get in the way of our higher service to the family of God. As with Jesus himself, our primary commitment is to "those who do the will of God", the bigger divine family.
So, thirdly, let us put God, His work, and our spiritual brothers and sisters first. If that bigger family also includes our own personal family, we are blessed indeed.
Glen Isaacs, Kingston
A breath of prayer in the morning means a day of blessing sure;
A breath of prayer in the evening means a night of rest secure.
A breath of prayer in our weakness
means a clasp of a mighty hand;
A breath of prayer when we’re lonely means Someone to understand.
A breath of prayer in our sorrows means
comfort and peace and rest;
A breath of prayer in our doubtings assures us the Lord knows best.
A breath of prayer in rejoicing gives
joy and added delight;
For they that remember God’s goodness go singing far into the night.
There’s never a year or a season
that prayer may not bless every hour;
And never a soul need be helpless when linked with God’s infinite power.
Dorothy Isaacs, Port Maria
Somewhere near the town of Jericho, Jesus told the twelve, and a few other faithful friends, "We are going up to Jerusalem." He set the pace: "Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid."
There was a wave of excitement among those closest to the King. At last, after all that unexplained delay, at last he is going to conquer. He is going to Jerusalem to change the government and reign from Zion. He has been saying the Kingdom is "at hand" for three years. Now it’s going to happen.
Two young men and their mother approach Jesus. The two brothers stumble through their query. "Master, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." Please say yes, Jesus, before we pop the question! Jesus was not dismissive, but patient. Now it comes. Their ambition is revealed: we want prominent ministerial posts in your new government. The King quietly dismisses their impertinent request: You really do not know what you are asking for.
The disappointed mother gets down on her knees and extends pleading hands. "Command", she blurts out, "command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your Kingdom." He plainly tells her that she too does not know what she is asking for.
The impertinence of it all! Where had these three been all the time that the Master had been teaching and instructing? They had been there, of course, but most of the time, it seems, not paying attention. As Luke puts it, "they did not understand a word of what he was saying."
Jesus pressed the point. "Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? Or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
Their determination knew no bounds. "Of course we are." Your majesty, we will do whatever it takes to get ministerial posts in your new war cabinet.
"You will drink that cup," came the calm response. "You will drink it indeed, but those top political jobs you are hungry for, they are not mine to give. Think again, young men. Drink the cup; of sacrifice, and the glory will take care of itself. You just serve, and leave my Father to deal out the rewards."
I still have a good memory, despite my infirmity. I remember well how many Christadelphian lectures I have heard, and exhortations, too, that were all about how to make sure we get places in the Kingdom and about being rulers over the nations. Not many have been about how to drink that cup of sacrifice, about laying down our lives for our friends, and about the baptism of dying with Christ. Why?
Mary Eyre, Cayman Brac
QUESTION: Bro. Cyrus Johnatty, Grand Cayman, asks: "What exactly is the ‘gospel’ that Paul preached to the Galatians? (1:8). As a Christadelphian, I have always taught that it is the promises to Abraham and their fulfillment as Paul expounds in chapter 3. A friend with whom I discuss the Bible insists that the gospel Paul preached was ‘Repent and be baptized, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ He points out that this was the gospel that the apostles preached as recorded throughout the New Testament."
ANSWER: Many sincere people, including Christadelphians, make this question quite needlessly complicated. They all tend to equate "the gospel" with their own particular church doctrines.
The Bible’s own usage is far simpler. The English word gospel, like its Greek equivalent, evangel, is not really a religious word at all. It simply means good news. My English dictionary defines "the gospel" as "the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ." My dictionary of biblical Greek defines evangelion as "the good tidings of the Kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ." This good news is the same from Genesis to Revelation.
God’s plan of salvation is good news indeed, wonderful news. God preached it to Eve when He promised redemption through her seed – Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15). The angels of God "announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’" (Gal. 3:8). There can be no misunderstanding there! Nathan preached the gospel to David when he told him the good news about the Kingdom of God and Messiah its ruler, so that David "saw the Lord always before him" (Acts 2:25). Daniel preached the gospel to Nebuchadnezzar: "the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom…the great God has shown the king what will take place in the future" (Dan. 2:44-45). All the Old Testament prophets preached the gospel, as Jesus himself told his friends on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27). Hebrews 11 gives us a list of men and women of faith who believed the "good news" of salvation through Christ, and tells us how it totally transformed and re-directed their lives.
What exactly is the gospel, you ask? The good news for all mankind (the "gospel"), back to Eve and forward to Armageddon and the day of judgment, is that Jesus Christ, the Jew from Nazareth, the Son of God, is the promised Saviour from sin and death. He is our great Deliverer appointed and sent by God to destroy the devil, conquer death for ever, and establish the Kingdom of God foreordained from the foundation of the world. He is the victor! The two clearest expositions of the apostolic gospel are Peter’s rousing speeches in Acts 2:22-39 and Acts 3:6-26. You and your friend would do well to make a detailed study of these together in a humble and seeking spirit.
The call to "repent and be baptized" is not the gospel. It is our own willing and eager response to the gospel. For unless we respond we cannot be saved (Mark 16:16). Unless we are "born again" we cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).
Editors of the Caribbean Pioneer
It is not possible, from a worldly perspective, to portray the ministry of the Teacher from Nazareth as anything but unsuccessful. Ridiculed by his country’s leaders, and rejected by most of its people, he was deserted at the end even by those who had given him their loyalty. His lack of worldly goods was emphasized at his death by the squalid gambling of a band of foreign mercenaries over his last remaining possession. He died a felon’s death on a public gibbet, with the taunts of his enemies ringing in his failing ears. Yet this man had heard, not once but twice, a voice from heaven proclaim "This is my beloved son". And, the inspired writer assures us, the time will surely come when every knee shall bow to him and every tongue confess that he has been given a name which is above every name.
That is the only success worth having.
Robin Lamplough, South Africa