What Do You Long For?
Notes from a talk presented by Jonathan Singh

(Activity: List out 5 things that you most long for in your life)

James & John

Reference: Mark 10:35-45

What did James and John long for?

They longed to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his Kingdom.

What do you think they meant?

Jews hold the view that the Messiah will be a King from David’s line associated with a specific series of events that have not yet occurred, including the return of Jews to their homeland and the rebuilding of The Temple; an era of peace and understanding during which the knowledge of God fills the earth.

James and John, I presume, were expecting the same and wanted to be neIxt to him. They thought that God’s kingdom would begin on earth immediately. It was like a request for an important job in government.

But Jesus replies saying: “You do not know what you are asking for.” Jesus says: “Can you drink?”, and they replied: “We can.” They asked this with all there heart even though they didn’t understand the true meaning of what Jesus said until after Jesus' resurrection. But they just wanted to be with Jesus after hearing from Him and seeing all that he had done. They didn’t even ask what he meant.

Then Jesus said to them: “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit on my right and left is not for me to grant.”

The image of the cup is important.

• Psalm 23 – Cup of Joy and Favor
• Jeremiah 25 and Matthew 26 – In the Garden of Gethsemane and in Jeremiah – Cup of Wrath and Death.

Christ is going on with his undertaking for the salvation of mankind. He was, is, and will be the wonder of all his disciples. Worldly honor is a glittering thing, with which the eyes of Christ’s own disciples have many times been dazzled. Our care must be that we may have wisdom and grace to know how to suffer with him; and we may trust him to provide what the degrees of our glory shall be. Christ shows them that dominion was generally abused in the world.

If Jesus gratifies all our desires, it would soon appear that we desire fame or authority, and are unwilling to taste of his cup, or to have his baptism. But he loves us, and will only give his people what is good for them and much more than they expect. The image of the cup here is life and suffering and death. James and John both did suffer ultimately. James dies a Martyr (Acts 12:2). John was forced to live in exile.

They both suffered and were heavily persecuted but at the same time they had the favor of God.

Next you see the disciples angry with James and John. They get into a squabble. But Jesus tells all of them that they are missing the point. If they want to follow Him, they cannot lord over others, dominate over others, or try to make their authority felt.

“If you want to share my life”, Jesus says, “you have to become a servant, and serve people.”

Jesus asks us to long to serve people, to give our lives in proclaiming the Gospel.

Bartimaeus

Reference: Mark 10:46-52

What did Bartimaeus long for?

Bartimaeus longed to see.

(There’s irony here. He could see even though he was physically blind.)

Do you think Jesus didn’t know that?

Look at Bartimaeus' perseverance in verse 48:

“Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!”

• Bartimaeus knew Jesus was the messiah. He believed and he had faith, which comes from – hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

• We are justified by faith. (Romans 5, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9)

• Faith comes through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) Bartimaeus had faith because he longed to hear the Word of God.

We must long to hear the Word of God; to see, no matter how much people put us down.

Don’t Be Conformed to This World

Reference: Romans 12:2

Paul focuses on one essential means of transformation — the renewal of the mind.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

Paul says: “Do not be conformed to this world”. But at the same time Paul says: “I try to please everybody in every way.”

1 Corinthians 9:22

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

1 Corinthians 10:32-33

Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God ,even as I try to please everybody in every way.

Is this possible?

Andrew Walls, in his book, The Missionary Movement In Christian History says: We are indigenous (native – in the world), yet we are pilgrims (strangers – not of the world). (John 17:14-16)

We can even look at it this way: we accept the Gospel no matter what our culture is. The Gospel is accepted all over the world in different places, different cultures; but once we accept it and begin to understand it, we realize that it corrects us and shows us the various aspects that are not right with not just our culture but also ourselves. We soon begin to feel like we are strangers in this world. We’re made for another Kingdom.

We Adapt

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.”

(1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)

Yet we Confront

Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. 8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!

(Ephesians 5:6-7)

• Do you long to break loose from conformity to the world?
• Do you long to be transformed and new from the inside out?
• Do you long to be free from mere duty-driven Christianity and do what you love to do because that’s what you ought to do?
• Do you long to offer up your body as a living sacrifice so that your whole life becomes a spiritual act of worship, and displays the worth of Christ above the worth of the world? • Do you long to be with Christ.?

Then give yourself with all your might to pursuing the renewal of your mind. Because the Bible says, this is the key to transformation.

The Holy Spirit renews the mind. It is first and decisively his work. We are radically dependent on him.

Conclusion

Go back to your list and check again; do you really long for the things you listed out?

Do you long to become a leader? To outdo your friends in college? To outperform your colleagues at work?
Do you long to be cool? Hang out with friends who are cool in the eyes of the world?

Or do you long to serve God; hear from His word and just be with Him?

(Photo by Ferran)

The Giraffe’s Neck – Evolution vs. Creation
Notes from a talk presented by Nikhil Isaac

Slides from the talk can be found below.

Being believers in Christ, we know how awesome God’s creation is. He created the world in 7 days.

As far as the world is concerned there are two views. Creation & Evolution.

We all realize that God is Creator, but how often do we consider what was involved in that creation? God is a chemist, a physicist, an astronomer, a biologist. He is most certainly an artist, a maker of all of our world’s beauty. He is the lawmaker of all of the unseen forces that make nature orderly and predictable.

The conditions of creation were intricately planned and considered. A mindless uncontrolled big bang would result in destruction and chaos, not the life and order we now see.

Creation

The First Day – The first recorded Words of God that we have are: “Let there be light”. And so it was, that the light was made separate from darkness. (Genesis 1:3-5)

The Second Day – The separation of the waters. There was yet no liquid water, no oceans. (Genesis 1:6-8)

The Third Day – The first appearance of dry ground. With dry ground available, the first plants were made to grow in great abundance. (Genesis 1:9-13)

The Fourth Day – With the sky now clear, the sun, moon and stars were dependably visible. They were to serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years. The sun marked the day, and the stars marked the seasons. Constellations are seen in particular seasons. For example, Orion is visible only during winter in the northern hemisphere. (Genesis 1:14-19)

The Fifth Day – Great numbers of birds and sea creatures were created. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (Genesis 1:20-23)

The Sixth Day – Man. From the man, woman. Humans today are just now discovering how to genetically alter fertilized embryos, and even create a human from the tissue of another – cloning. (Genesis 1:24-31)

The Seventh Day – The Sabbath Day. “By the sixth day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. (Genesis 2:2-3)

Evolution

Evolution is a theory put forward by Charles Darwin and other scientists.

According to this theory the universe exploded out of nothing. Different life forms are said to have evolved from a common ancestor.

Natural selection – It is a process by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. The natural genetic variation within a population of organisms means that some individuals will survive more successfully than others in their current environment. Factors which affect reproductive success are also important, an issue which Charles Darwin developed in his ideas on sexual selection. The term was introduced by Darwin in his groundbreaking 1859 book On the Origin of Species.

Slides from the Talk

Click here to download:

The_Giraffe's_Neck.ppt (6.79 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The_Giraffe's_Neck.ppt (6.79 MB)

(Photo by stuckincustoms)

Notes from the Bible Study | Led by John VC
Is Your Walk For Real?

References

• Romans 12:1-8
• Joshua 1:7-9
• Psalm 1

Examine Yourself

Based on the characteristics listed in Romans 12:1-8:

• Be sincere.
• Cling to what is good; hate evil.
• Honor each other.
• Be fervent in your faith.
• Be joyful.
• Live in harmony.
• Be patient.
• Do not be proud.
• Do not repay anyone evil for evil.

Being Successful Based on Biblical Standards

1. No compromise on obedience.
2. Dependence on the Lord.
3. A shortcut to success is always disobedience no matter how one justifies it.
4. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

The sooner we realize that the success of our walk depends on our dependence on the Lord, the easier it gets.

Emmanuel – God is with us.

(Photo by AHMED…)

Notes from the Bible Study | Led by John VC
Examining the Lives of Three Spiritual Giants – Daniel, Moses & David

References

• Daniel 1:8,17
• Exodus 4:10 & Hebrews 11:23-28
• 1 Samuel 16:5,12,18

Questions to Ponder

General discussion

• Examine their beginnings.
• What is the catalyst in the transformation?
• What is their ultimate life story?

Personal

• Examine your situation in the light of the life of the character.
• What goal have you set?
• What do you need to get you to your goal?

Daniel

1. Taken captive, he was selected for service to the King. He honoured God and God honoured him by blessing him with the gift of prophecy.
2. He was consistent in his faith and prayer.
3. He had an uncomprimising stand and God came through for him.
4. He went from being a slave to the top-most position in Babylon.

Our position today in our life is because of God, whether it be a promotion or passing an exam with flying colours. Daniel is evidence of that. He was constantly plugged into the power-source, yearning for God’s mercy and love.

Moses

1. He began life with a miracle; he was blessed with his mother’s love.
2. Had an excellent education, in-spite of which he stammered.
3. He lacked confidence
4. Seeing the ill-treatment meted out by Egyptians to the slaves, Moses killed an Egyptian.
5. God revealed miracles very personally to him – the burning bush; his staff was turned in to a snake, and back again; his hand became leprous for a short time.
6. He was the link between God and the people of Israel.

God’s grace was upon his life right from his birth till his death. From his life, we learn to align ourselves to God’s will and to be patient.

David

1. He started out as a shepherd, and was insignificant; even among his own family.
2. Unlike Daniel, he wasn’t very consistent. But he was genuinely contrite.
3. He was willing to admit his sin to God, making sure it didn’t go unforgiven.
4. He was passionate about knowing God more intimately.

Even though he wasn’t perfect, he still gave God the first place in his life.

Meditate upon

• Are you consistent with your calling?
• Are you constantly plugged into the power-source?
• Do you yearn for the love and mercy of God?
• In-spite of your imperfection, are you willing to give God the first place in your life?

(Photo by Lawrence OP)