Pastor Nigel

TELL THE STORIES WITH THANKSGIVING IN YOUR HEART.

Our devotional focus on the last couple of dates of the tour has been firstly one of thanksgiving for all that God has done through us, and secondly one of telling the stories of God's goodness.

In the band devotions yesterday we meditated on this verses:

 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 

Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 

Psalm 105.1-5

We did indeed thank God for all he has done on this tour, and we took the opportunity to reflect on the lessons we had learnt-especially with regard to relationships with God and people, and with planning. What wisdom from this tour should we carry into the future?

Today in our final all tour devotional service, I reminded everyone that we have been engaged in a battle-a battle already won by Christ on the cross- but a battle between the forces of light and darkness nevertheless. I read this verse:

 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12.11

In this picture of the final battle in Revelation, the saints are victorious because of the blood of the Lamb AND their own testimony. I challenged the assembled bands and crew to remember the good news stories of this tour, and we shared many of them. I encouraged people to keep on telling the stories from this tour-stories which will give them more faith, will encourage others and will give glory to God.

FAITH, LOVE, HOPE.

Heading into the final weekend of the tour it's important that our attitudes and actions remain positive and strong. To that end, in our band prayer time tonight I read this verse:

 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1 Thessalonians 1.3

WORK-just like the readers of Paul's letter we are involved in missionary work and in acts of kindness to those in need. It was this type of Godly work that Paul refers to. He's not saying we are saved by works, but he is saying that there is always Kingdom of God work to be done. Work is a fruit of the believer's life and is produced by faith in God.

LABOR- At first glance this is the same as work, but Paul means something different. He's talking about an extraordinary effort of work, a labor of love, devotion above and beyond the call of duty. Distinctly spiritual service to help others, out of a spirit of self-sacrifice and motivated by love for God and by the love of God.

ENDURANCE-The commentary I read on this verse called Endurance- 'an aggressive and courageous Christian quality'. It excludes self-pity and discouragement, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

How? By focusing on the hope that only Jesus can bring.

THE LAMB OF GOD.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

As today was the last time we'll be playing on a Sunday on this tour,our tour devotional time was focused around Communion. Mac and Mark led crew and bands in a couple of worship songs and I shared from Leviticus 16 and got a bit theological with everyone.In this chapter, Moses is given instructions from God about how Aaron is to offer sacrifices to make atonement for himself and the people:

 Lev. 16:9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 

 Lev. 16:10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat. 

This passage beautifully foreshadows the sacrificial death of Jesus and the shedding of his blood. It's the festival of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, and we see two key things being modeled:

The Goat-God's wrath was being diverted to the goat, thus rendering the people free from their sins.

This is called PROPITIATION.

The Scapegoat-the sins of the people were symbolically placed on this animal and sent far away. SIn was removed from the people and they were cleansed. This is called EXPIATION.

I hope you can see the parallels with the sacrifice of Jesus. As we gathered around the communion table we gave thanks that because of the shed blood of Jesus we are free from the penalty of sin and free from the presence of sin.

1John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.