There is in human beings a disposition to esteem themselves more highly than others, to work for self, to seek the highest place; and often this results in evil surmisings and bitterness of spirit. The ordinance preceding the Lord’s Supper is to clear away these misunderstandings, to bring men and women out of their selfishness, down from their stilts of self-exaltation, to the humility of heart that will lead them to serve each other.
Only through Christ can we find harmony with God and be made holy.
The holy Watcher from heaven is present at this season to make it one of soul searching, of conviction of sin, and of the blessed assurance of sins forgiven. Christ in the fullness of His grace is there to change the current of the thoughts that have been running in selfish channels. The Holy Spirit quickens the sensibilities of those who follow the example of their Lord. As the Saviour’s humiliation for us is remembered, thought links with thought; a chain of memories is called up, memories of God’s great goodness and of the favor and tenderness of earthly friends….
Whenever this ordinance is rightly celebrated, the children of God are brought into a holy relationship, to help and bless each other. They covenant that the life shall be given to unselfish ministry. And this, not only for one another. Their field of labor is as wide as their Master’s was. The world is full of those who need our ministry. The poor, the helpless, the ignorant, are on every hand. Those who have communed with Christ in the upper chamber will go forth to minister as He did.
Though God has not revealed Himself to our senses: for we cannot see Him, or hear Him, or touch Him, He has not left us to grope blindly in confusion and doubt, without any evidence of His existence. God never asks us to believe without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His Word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason and this testimony is abundant.What are some of the evidences of God’s existence and where do we find them?
FOOT PRINTS OF GOD IN THE EARTH
Matthew 6:28,29 – So why do you worry about clothing? CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY WAS NOT ARRAYED LIKE ONE OF THESE.
All around us, in earth and sea and sky, there are countless evidences of order, beauty, accuracy, adaptation and intelligent planning. Consider these marvels of creative design: The beauty and perfume of the flowers; snowflake crystals; a butterfly’s wing; a spider’s web; a bird’s feather; a cob of corn; the marvelous instincts and mechanisms of the honeybee; the annual miracle of bird migration; and the bat’s ingenious ‘radar’ system. Could these wonders of creation have made themselves?
FOOTPRINTS OF GOD IN THE HEAVENS
Psalms 19:1 – THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Isaiah 40:26 – Lift up your eyes on high, and see WHO HAS CREATED THESE THINGS, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.
In the heavens above us there are the same evidences of pattern, order, beauty, accuracy and apparent purpose that we see in our own world – only magnified to a breath-taking degree. Consider these wonders of the starry heavens: The enormous size, weight, speeds, numbers, distances and temperatures of the billions of planets and stars; the precise calculation and co-ordination of their weight, motions, speeds, temperatures and orbits; the fine balancing of
attractions and repulsion; the split-second timing; the perfect synchronization – the clock-like regularity; and all maintained in a state of harmony by constantly-operating laws and controls. Could these marvels of creation have made themselves?
FOOTPRINTS OF GOD IN OUR BODIES
Psalms 139:14 – I will praise You, for I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
In the human body there are some amazing evidences of ingenious design, coordination, adaptation and creative forethought that we see in the earth and in the heavens. Consider these wonders of the body temple: The living cell; the heart; the brain; the eye; the ear; the hand; the senses of touch, taste and smell; the nervous system; the digestive system; the prolonged and intricate miracle of reproduction and growth; the glands; and the body’s marvelous defense and healing mechanisms.
What shall we do with these countless evidences of intelligent planning and forethought in the earth, in the heavens and in our bodies? We cannot ignore them. They demand a rational explanation. They have come into existence either by design, or by accident. They are the product of God or of chance. There is no neutral ground.
Did you ever hear the story of the watch that made itself? Such a thing is impossible, as we well know. But the universe, and our bodies are more complicated and intricate than the mechanism of a watch. Reason demands a ‘Maker’ for the presence of such incredible design in His created works.
Hebrews 3:4 – For every house is built by someone, but HE WHO BUILT ALL THINGS IS GOD.
This is the only rational explanation for the marvels of creation.
IF WE BELIEVE IN GOD WE MUST BELIEVE THE BIBLE
ARCHEOLOGY ILLUMINATES THE BIBLE
A hundred years ago there were learned critics who claimed that the Bible was full of historical blunders. Today the situation has changed – almost dramatically. The discoveries of archaeology in Bible lands have created a new confidence in the historical accuracy of Holy Scriptures. This new confidence is echoed in the words of Sir Frederic Kenyon, spoken during his Presidential address to the Victorian Institute: “The up to date scholars are now those who recognize the authenticity and authority of the Christian Literature; it is the critics, who formerly claimed to be ‘advanced’, who are now belated and behind the times.”
The ‘Middle East’ was the birth-place of the Bible, and the cradle of the human race. The great nations of antiquity – Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia, Babylon and Persia were clustered there. The Bible narratives are knitted at a thousand points to the history of these nations.
The Middle East has thus become a gigantic museum, crammed with the relics of departed greatness.
At the same time, this region is an enormous library. Beneath its restless sands, and on the stony faces of its storm-whipped monuments are preserved chronicles of the mighty empires of the past.
This library, the oldest and biggest in the world, with its clay tablets and cylinders, its rolls of papyrus, its scraps of broken pottery and its slabs of stone, is also a huge treasury, prepared by the hands of men long dead, filled with evidence of the historical accuracy of the sacred Scriptures, and reserved by God against the present hour of need.
PUTTING THE BIBLE TO THE TEST
2 Timothy 3:16 – ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
This claim to Divine Authorship is made throughout the Bible.
Expressions such as “Thus says the Lord”, and “Hear this word that the Lord has spoken” are found over 2,000 times in the pages of Scripture. But the Bible does not ask us to believe these claims without supporting evidence.
1 Thessalonians 5:20,21 – Do not despise prophecies. TEST ALL THINGS; hold fast what is good.
THE PERMANENCE OF THE BIBLE
Consider first the Bible’s claim to indestructible permanence.
Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, but THE WORD OF OUR GOD STANDS FOREVER.
John 10:35 – If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and THE SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE BROKEN).
Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY WORDS WILL BY NO MEANS PASS AWAY.
Those words were spoken by Jesus Himself.
Diocletian, Roman Emperor of the 4th century, outlawed Christianity, confiscated all known copies of the Scriptures and burned them. Yet the Bible arose unharmed from the ashes.
Thomas Paine, the notorious English Freethinker of the 18th century, fought the Bible with sarcasm and ridicule. In spite of these and other attempts to destroy it the Bible has survived.
THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE
Consider next the Bible’s claim to be able to foretell the future.
Isaiah 46:9,10 – Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’.
The Bible contains at least 1,000 prophecies; some entirely fulfilled, some in process of fulfilment, some yet to be fulfilled. Approximately one
third of the Bible is devoted to prediction. These prophecies stretch like a long avenue of shining lights all the way from Genesis to Revelation.
