Saturday March 5, 2011

Read Daniel 5

History is a good teacher - well it should be anyway. Belshazzar was explicitly told that he should have known better because he had seen the history of his father.

"But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.  Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honour the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways.”

We’ll be meeting tomorrow as a congregation. We need to learn from history that being humble before the Lord in our gathered worship is a good thing, pleasing to God. The marks of a humble church are obvious - prayer (seeking God’s decision and input) plays a vital role.  Obedience is espoused and encouraged. The service is conducted in obedience according to the Word and not according to what the world likes or what makes us feel good. The Word of the Lord is central and all sit under its authority eagerly waiting to hear what the Lord has to say. God is honoured as the entire congregation seeks Him and praises Him. The ‘Me-ism” so prevalent in many churches is humbly slain in preference to ‘He-ism’. He is the centre. He is the focus. He is the Lord.

Corporately, we see the humility that the Lord loves but we also see it individually. Individuals come to serve, not to be served. As they drive home, individuals don’t ask, ‘What did I get out of the service today?’ They ask, ’What did I put into the service today?’ Individuals give sacrificially. They display their love for each other in fellowship, in giving, in serving each other, in following each other up, in unity, in using their spiritual gifts to build up the body and in commitment to each other.

Tomorrow when the church gathers you will be able to contribute to it being humble and honouring to God.

Prayer:-

þ As we prepare for our Compassion Launch (a church partnership to support a group of children in one village with Compassion) pray that we will have the Lord’s compassion and that we’ll support many children. Pray that God would be glorified through this venture.

þ Pray that through Compassion many will hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ Jesus.