Truth Archive

Hymn 1.

Luke 2 v 8 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.”

For many years I have heard about the huge sheep industry in Australia. I have heard there are millions of sheep being raised in your country. I have heard something is changing and sheep farmers are not so interested in sheep anymore, the money is just not in it. I have been told since coming here there is no money in raising sheep anymore. There is no value in a sheep. And there is no value in a lamb. And people are turning to something else that has value in it, there is no value in a lamb.

I thought about Jesus the Lamb, and this thought: could it be that people are feeling like there is no more value in the Lamb, no longer any value in Jesus? And I think we are finding that in the world. And the world is pushing the lamb out of the picture. Because people no longer see any value in the Lamb. They are looking at something else that has value to them and looking for something else to fill their time. And I fear within my own heart and the heart of the Lord’s people that we would ever feel somehow there is no longer any value in the Lamb. That would be a sad feeling if that was in my heart.

One thing I am trying to do is to read my hymn book and our hymns, and we have beautiful hymns. We have some very beautiful hymns, and we all know that. I do not mean just the tunes, the words of the hymns are beautiful. And in the evening I open up my hymn book and slowly read a hymn. And I have found that so rewarding. There are some beautiful thoughts captured in some of our hymns.

One hymn that I have appreciated is the one we just sang, number one. We all know that hymn so well. Did you ever notice in that hymn the five things it says about Jesus? In verse two it says he was despised and afflicted, homeless, rejected and poor. None of those things are desirable, and none of those things are a pleasant situation to be in. And Jesus had them all. Homeless and poor was more by choice, because he was setting the standard and the example for the New Testament ministry, and he himself was homeless and poor for the gospel’s sake. He was also afflicted and that means he faced experiences that were hurtful. He faced experiences that left him hurting. Being rejected means he was being cast out and he was a cast-out. Then there is this word despised. And that means he was treated as of little value. Despised not worth very much. And it would be a terrible thing if I despised God’s Lamb. And what I hoped for myself and all of us was that we could just really see clearly the value of the Lamb. To see the tremendous value of Jesus the Lamb.

In this little verse, the Shepherds were keeping watch over their sheep by night. And that tells me they valued the lambs. The Shepherds would spend the night awake and watching so that sheep could rest and have peace. The sheep could rest, because the shepherd was awake. An evening would come and the shepherd would get the sheep and put them in a little enclosure, maybe on the hillside. And I believe once the sheep were in the enclosure the shepherd would take the bed roll and roll it out across the doorway. That way if the enemy ever came near, first of all, he would have to deal with the Shepherd before he could get to the sheep.

We read some of the enemies of the sheep were bears, lions and wolves. And the Shepherd had worked out that the enemy likes to attack in the dark. And when it was dark the shepherds were awake and the sheep could rest. And Jesus is like our shepherd and we are the sheep and the enemy is like the enemy of our soul, Satan. One thing we find is that the Devil will often attack us when it is dark. And some of our experiences we say are dark or night experiences, and maybe you have discovered in the dark experiences the enemy likes to attack. And I know in this past year you and I have had some dark experiences, and I have a feeling the enemy has attacked you in the dark, just like he has attacked me in the dark. And it was a comforting thought to me to think of Jesus the Shepherd and maybe we have no idea how many times he warned off the enemy. And we have no idea because he was watching and he was awake. We feel grateful that we are still here and the flock is together. We give thanks for the care of the Shepherd.

What would happen if one of those enemies did attack the flock? We have a little story in the Bible that tells us exactly what happened and it is an account given by the Shepherd. And you know the story about David. And when David was standing before Saul. V 34-36 “And David said unto Saul, thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock; and I went out after him and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defiled the armies of the living God.” It seems both the lion and the bear came and attacked the flock. We have no details about what happened when the bear came other than David slew the bear. But it says about the lion that it took a lamb out of the flock. Then it tells us what the shepherd did. There is the lion and he has got the lamb in its mouth and David said I went up and slew him and delivered the lamb out of its mouth. The enemy of the Lamb became the enemy of the shepherd. The lamb was delivered and did you notice what David did when the lion turned on him? I can hardly believe it, and David took him by the beard. I didn’t think you would do that with lions, unless you were a shepherd, and you loved the flock and the enemy had taken one of the little lambs. I suppose David did not even think twice.

The Shepherd got very close to the enemy. And he caught him by the beard and smote him. The little lamb is like you and me and David the shepherd is like Jesus and I see the lion as my sin. And sometimes our sin gets hold of us and it is destroying us. And I think of Jesus and he got very close to our sin, he got very close to the enemy, so close that he took our sin upon his shoulders, so close he lost his life as a ransom for us so we could be delivered from our sin.

And then what happened? The lion is dead and it is laying on the ground and it is no longer a threat to the little lamb. You do not read this, but I picture David turning to that little lamb and he crouches down beside the little lamb that is wounded and hurting and bleeding and frightened and weakened. And you can almost picture the shepherd scooping up that little lamb in his arms and holding it to himself and then carrying it off to the fold. Such gentleness and tenderness towards the little lamb that had almost been destroyed. And when we think back to times when we have been delivered from our sin because of his sacrifice and I think we have to say he dealt with me so gently and so tenderly and so kindly when he got me back to the fold again.

Amos 3 v 12 “Then saith the Lord; as the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so, shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed and in Damascus in a couch.” We would think that is absolutely hopeless, my foolish heart says there is no more hope and all that is left is two legs and a piece of ear. Maybe we look back over our experience, maybe there have been some that we have known, some who have been so badly wounded and maybe in our foolish heart there is no hope for them and it has gone too far. And when God saw two legs, he saw two legs that still walk, and the peace of ear that could still hear, God saw hope. Even if we are that far gone and completely torn by the enemy and there is still hope there, there are two legs that can walk and a piece of an ear that can hear. Reading over this helped me to see the wonderful love in the Lord Jesus, not only was he the shepherd, but he is also our Redeemer.

John 1 v 29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” And John looks up and sees Jesus coming and it is almost like he blurts it out: Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world and that is not the only thing that thrilled John, and when he looked up, he saw Jesus coming unto him. One of the most thrilling and comforting pictures a simple person will ever see is the Lamb of God coming unto them. And the Lamb of God with all his provision of cleansing and forgiveness and love and mercy and you see him coming to me. It is the most beautiful picture a simple person would ever see.

The next day he saw Jesus walking and he said the same thing: behold the Lamb of God, it does not say that Jesus was coming to him, maybe Jesus was going to someone else, the same thrill was in the heart of John when he saw Lamb of God going to someone else. And I am glad I feel the same kind of thrill in my heart to think of Jesus with all his provision and love and mercy and forgiveness going to someone else.

And in John 6 we read the disciples needed rest and Jesus said you can come into a desert place and rest a while. They got into a ship and they sailed across the lake. And they are heading to the place of rest and they are coming into shore and the disciples are looking forward to this place of rest. And they looked up and you know what they saw and they saw another multitude of people. And I could imagine what the disciples were feeling, oh not more people! They were so looking forward to the place of rest. And Jesus was always happy to see all these people and he was moved with compassion and he was able to teach them many things. And I asked myself did the disciples miss getting their rest? And I wonder if the rest was that little quiet time that they had alone with Jesus in the ship. I do not know how long it would take to sail across that lake. And that period of time that they were alone with Jesus was their rest. The real rest for your soul and mine when we have a quiet time alone with Jesus.

Jesus is speaking to this multitude. And the disciples came to Jesus with a whole bunch of problems. They said this is a desert place, the time is far past and it is getting late. There is a multitude of people here that are all hungry and we have nothing to give them to eat. And they were probably thinking we have not had our rest yet. And maybe the disciples did not have the best spirit, and I know how I would have reacted. And Jesus said, don’t send people away, give them something to eat.

And it tells us it was near the time of the Passover. There would be several Passovers that Jesus would have kept in his lifetime, and Jesus would know that one day he would be the fulfilment of that, that he would be the Passover Lamb. And I wonder when Jesus was keeping the Passover himself if he was wondering one day it is going to be me. And the disciples have this problem and Jesus said give them to eat. And Jesus said to Phillip Where shall we buy bread so these can eat? V 6 “And this he said to prove him; for he himself knew what he would do.” And in the back of Jesus’ mind, he knew what he was going to do one day, that he was going to be the Passover Lamb. And here is this multitude of people who are hungry and how are they going to meet the needs of those people? And Jesus knew one day I’m going to give my life as a sacrifice and that is what is going to really meet the needs of those hungry and needy people. Jesus knew what he himself would do.

And I think Jesus knew about the little lad there. The gift that Jesus would offer was his life and he so easily could have kept it to himself and the needs of the people would never have been met. And the little lad who gave the gift could have kept it for himself, but instead, he offered it, and because he offered it the needs of many people were met that day. I wonder if Jesus himself was encouraged by that little lad.

John 8 we read about the woman who was taken in her sin. And there was this mob bringing this woman and interrupting his meeting. Master, this woman was taken right in the act of sin. And Moses says she should be stoned, what do you say? And when I read that I wonder who Jesus was now? And one day Jesus would be the sin-offering and the sin-bearer. And what answer will the sin-bearer give when they come and ask that question? Moses says this woman should be stoned; she should be put to death. And they are asking the sin-bearer. And Jesus just stooped down and wrote on the sand. And thinking in his mind she does not need to die; it is me that is going to die. I am going to be the one who is dying for the sin.

John 11 we read about this man and Lazarus and Mary and Martha. And a family unit as they were all siblings. That family meant a lot to Jesus, it seems like they were friends to him, and he appreciated their friendship and fellowship. And Lazarus became sick. And they notified Jesus of that, and it was serious, and Jesus waited two days. And then Lazarus died. It was a new thought to me. To think of the possibility that Lazarus was sick because he had sinned. I do not know that for sure. And remember sickness and sin were connected. And there is a possibility Lazarus became sick because of some sin that had taken place. Almost like the lion had grabbed him. Jesus never went straight away. Finally, when Jesus went, they took him to the grave where Lazarus was. Lazarus is in the grave and wrapped up in the grave clothes and it is all sealed up. And Jesus wept. I do not believe Jesus was weeping because of his friendship with Lazarus, and I wonder if he was weeping because of what Lazarus had become entangled with, all that he had got wrapped up in, and now where it had led him. That is what sin does to us, gets us all entangled and gets us all wrapped up and we go to places we would never choose to go. And maybe that is why Jesus wept. When they rolled away the stone, Jesus maybe remembered what he would do: one day he was going to give his life as a sacrifice for sin.

Jesus said Lazarus come forth, and he is still wrapped up in the grave clothes. And it must’ve been a great relief for Lazarus to get untangled from all that, that he had been entangled with, just free. And now he had life again and the wonderful thing was he was no longer sick, and that is what the forgiveness of God is able to do also. The little lamb released from the mouth of the lion.
John 12 v 1-3 “Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead. Whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment, of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.” In other gospels, it tells us this meal took place in the home of Simon the Leper. And I say who’s home, a leper’s home. And you remember leprosy is very contagious, and the lepers outside the gates of the city are crying unclean so no one will come close. And here is this meal being held in the house of the leper. And I think the only way that could happen is if the leprosy had been cleansed like Jesus had done it.

The song in Simon’s heart would be: I am so thankful he cleansed me. Then there is Lazarus and the song in his heart: I am so thankful he raised me from the dead. And Martha cannot help but serve, and here she is serving in someone else’s home, and the song in Martha’s heart would be: I just want to be a help. And here is Mary with this precious ointment and [the song of Mary’s heart would be]: I just want to express my love for Jesus. And there are 11 faithful disciples and their song is I just want to follow Jesus, and I just want to take this gospel story and share with others what I enjoyed so much myself. Could we imagine this little meeting and the spirit each one was contributing by the experiences that they have been through? And then there was Jesus himself on the verge of his offering. You are all from various experiences and I know each one of you can contribute something very special to your little meeting group by the spirit that you bring, because of the experiences that you have been through and have something wonderful. Don’t be like Judas as he came with a sour spirit. And he spoiled it all.

John 13 and the little gathering there. And now Jesus and his disciples were gathering around the Lamb. And the Passover feast they were keeping in the upper room. And there before them on the table is the slain Lamb. And everyone would know that it represented something. And it represented something that happened 1500 years before when there was a great deliverance from Egypt. And I think of those 13 men partaking of the Lamb. I wonder if it was possible to partake of the Lamb without having one thought about what happened in Egypt 1500 years before. I think it was possible. Just feeding on the Lamb without a single thought of what it represented.

In Matthew 26 v 26 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, take eat; this is my body.” And while they were eating the lamb that represented Jesus and Jesus introduced the other emblems that represented the very same thing, it represented himself, his sacrifice. So, as we partake of the emblems every Sunday morning and you think it is possible to partake of the emblems and not have one single thought of what they represent? I would hope it would have more meaning as I would partake of those emblems. And Jesus said this bread is my body and helps me understand that if I think of the body as part of him that was human and this is the part of me that was human and broken for you. And there were many times that the human of Jesus was broken long before he got to the cross. Every time Jesus resisted temptation his human was being broken and subdued. Every time Jesus passed over a wrong thought his human was broken. Every time he withheld a wrong word, or subdued something using up in his spirit. And as we would partake of the bread is saying I am willing I am willing for the part of me to be broken. I want to resist temptation like Jesus did.

And the cup that represents his blood that was shed for us, and the forgiveness it offers. The Scriptures teach us two things that will keep us from being forgiven. And one is that we don’t repent, and the other one is we do not forgive. So, when we partake of that cup it is like saying I am fulfilling the conditions of forgiveness, I have repented anything I need to repent and I have forgiven everyone that I need to forgive. And if those two things are true, we can partake. It is a searching thing. I want more meaning when I partake of those emblems. And then maybe for some in the fellowship meeting that is not your portion to partake of the emblems yet. We have a hymn that gives your portion if you’re not partaking of the emblems, but the emblems are there. That’s hymn 391 and the first verse: “Lord, we go round thy footstool, bowed in deep humility; as we look upon the emblems, we remember Calvary.” And if it is not your portion to partake of the emblems, it would fulfill the meaning as you look on them, they will have the same kind of meaning to you, that deep meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus. Amen.