What's on this week? (June 28–July 2, 2010)

Could you please keep in your prayers a special meeting of the NCTM Council on Friday night, where decisions will be made regarding various aspects of future directions for our ministry?

After a very good term, this is the final week for the classes before a three-week break. The various classes have been recorded and will be placed on SermonAudio in the next few weeks. You can find the NCTM SermonAudio site by clicking on the button at the top of this page.

Beginning July 26, the annual Ministry School—this year's theme is Shepherds After God's Own Heart—will be held. Please contact NCTM or visit our webpage for more information. 

The regular weekly classes this week: 

Mondays@Christies Beach Baptist Church 7.30-9.30pm:

Acts of the Apostles Martin Bleby
 
Marriage Martin Bleby
Christies Beach Baptist Church, Fowey St, Christies Beach
   
Keith Chessell-The Story of God: The Story of God (New Testament) Keith Chessell

• 7.15pm Tuesday–Victor Harbor;
  
• 7.30pm Wednesday–Mitcham.

Victor Harbor High School, George Main Road, Victor Harbor;
Mitcham Baptist Church, 20 Albert St, Mitcham

 
Tuesdays@NCTM (6.45pm tea, $3),7.30-9.30pm:

The Story of Salvation Andrew Klynsmith and Hank Schoemaker
An interactive overview of the whole Bible, helping to supply a reliable framework for faith in God, especially for younger believers and enquirers.
 
New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East
  
Thursdays@NCTM 9.30-11.30am

Creation and the Liberating Glory Trevor Faggotter
 
God and Prayer Martin Bleby
 
New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East

The Holy Word

Had He not spoken
(The Word, the word)
Then I had not known
God of the Word.
Had He not spoken
Creation were not,
And I, and all things.
  
Sometimes in the maze
Of men’s brilliant words
I feel alone like a crow
On a barren desert,
A cryless pitch
Of sterile nothingness.
  
I hear the word, read,
See them in their lines,
Am damned and doubted
About all things.
Despair plucks at my mind,
Baffled I am
By such brilliance.
  
Still starves the heart within,
Still wanders the aching mind,
Where the flighting thought
Flashes like cracked lightning
On the dark covered reaches
Of my puny comprehension.
  
That is when the heart cries,
The spirit panting
Lifts hapless, helpless wings,
Longing for the flight
That befits true spirit.
The word of man shrivels
Like parched peas
On massive seared granite.
  
Not so the true Word.
It is refreshing rain
On the arid reaches,
Warm sun on the shivered prairies
And bleak uplands. It breaks
In rhythmic joy, filling
The hungered, quenching the dry,
Bringing rivulets of sheer refreshment.
  
How can God speak—
However He may speak—
And the delight not come? True, the fear
May well precede delight,
But the truth liberates,
Setting free the bound mind,
The awkward phrase,
And breaks the chains
Of human hermeneutic,
Mind’s priestcraft
And denial of the living Logos.



From All Things of the Spirit, by Geoffrey C. Bingham, pp. 5-6.

If You By The Spirit...

This point we did not follow fully enough—that is, that it was and is the living power of the Spirit which breaks the power of the flesh in the life of the believer. We saw that ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ was strong enough to break the power of ‘the law of sin and death’ in bringing forensic justification. We also saw that the fulfilling of the dikaioma (="righteous requirements") of the law was by the power of the Spirit working in us and not by us using the Spirit instrumentally. To walk in the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit is what is required of us—nothing more. 

  

What, then, do we make of Romans 8:12—13? Its text is: ‘So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the   Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live’.

Because of the work of the cross and resurrection, Man is not indebted to live according to the flesh. He is finished with that regime (cf. Galatians 5:24), which was always linked with rebellion against the law. I like to think that Paul was about to begin a complementary parenthesis at the end of Romans 8:12, and it would have gone something like this, ‘but you are debtors to the Spirit to live after the Spirit’. To live in the flesh (cf. Romans 8:6) means death—but then, ‘if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live’. The ‘deeds of the body’ here may not be concupiscent—that is, ‘the works of the flesh’ but be on the verge of becoming such. We speak of right desires of the body in eating, drinking, and similar actions that are legitimate. The subject of putting these deeds to death lest they become lusts is the person. But he takes actions not ‘of himself but ‘of the Spirit’. The next verse says, ‘For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God’, and shows that the subject behind the subject is the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Spirit leads Man into being dependent upon the Spirit. This accords with all that is said about ‘fulfillment’ in regard to Romans 8:4.

 
My idea in taking up this point is to show that Man is not incapable of opposing the flesh, and of putting it to death in action as well as in intention. It means Man is not subject at all to the flesh, but has been released to be victor over it. This means a lot regarding ethical power in the life of the believer by the Spirit. Again, as in our former point of obedience—that is, the law being fulfilled in us—Christ took no unilateral action in life. He only did what the Father told Him (John 5:17—30; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10). And, in- deed, the Father who dwelled in Him did the works. This can only be understood on the basis of John 10:38—that the Son was in the Father and the Father was in the Son. Of course, the Father-Son and Son-Father relationship is the key to all obedience. It was this relationship that Adam should have followed!
 

from "God and Man in the Mission of the Kingdom", by Geoffrey C. Bingham, Redeemer Baptist Press: North Parramatta, 2003, pp.238-239

What's on this week? (June 21–25, 2010)

The regular weekly classes continue this week: 

Mondays@Christies Beach Baptist Church 7.30-9.30pm:

Acts of the Apostles Martin Bleby
 
Marriage Martin Bleby
Christies Beach Baptist Church, Fowey St, Christies Beach
   
Keith Chessell-The Story of God: The Story of God (New Testament) Keith Chessell

• 7.15pm Tuesday–Victor Harbor;
  
• 7.30pm Wednesday–Mitcham.

Victor Harbor High School, George Main Road, Victor Harbor;
Mitcham Baptist Church, 20 Albert St, Mitcham

 
Tuesdays@NCTM (6.45pm tea, $3),7.30-9.30pm:

The Story of Salvation Andrew Klynsmith and Hank Schoemaker
An interactive overview of the whole Bible, helping to supply a reliable framework for faith in God, especially for younger believers and enquirers.
 
New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East
  
Thursdays@NCTM 9.30-11.30am

Creation and the Liberating Glory Trevor Faggotter
 
God and Prayer Martin Bleby
 
New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East

Where, Then, Is The Sting?

Oh death! Where is thy sting? 
Dread venom of lowest hell,
Brewed in the bitterness of hatred,
Where is thy sting,
Distilled from violence of rebellion,
Compounded of saddest separation?
This is death’s sting, and yet
Where, oh where, death, is thy sting?
 
Where does the sting incise,
Where pour out its poison,
Ghastly, grisly, doom-dealing, deadly?
In it the shame and pain of
Fruitless remorse, dull anguish,
Dry tongue cleaving, tears destroyed
In lethal cynicism, passion against God,
Rustlings of memories bringing horror,
And the incoming, ravaging darkness—
This is death’s sting.
Yet where, oh death, is thy sting?
 
How then the irrevocable loss
Of the holy, heavenly being—
Man brilliantly lit by God,
Pulsing in glory? How, where, is this loss?
Down in the mocking strata of death,
The leering, gaping grin of the grave,
The stench of corruption, glory-failure
And no-being in God. This is the sting.  
Yet, oh death, where, where is thy sting?
 
The sting is in him. Look up
(All ye that pass by). Look and see.
Do not let the divine drama pass over you,
Be over you, be gone. Look up!
 There, writhing with the sting. Oh yes,
Human enough to suffer and divine
Enough to bear. Look up and see,
All ye who pass by. See where death’s sting 
Was and is no more.
 
If a man stay and look, he will see.
If he pass by, then in a moment
He will pass by love, and will never see.
He will miss the miracle
Hid in the grim gallows. He will bypass
Love reaching out with cool arms
To embrace the sin-fevered.
He will pass by, not knowing
Where the sting has gone.  
  
Where is death’s sting? In him:
Annulled and made void: nothing.
Its poison absorbed, destroyed.
Death tried to conquer. This it could not.
This sting in man is death, fiery,
Anguish and flame of hell,
But in him—after the suffering—
Exploded myth of destruction.
In him the fire of death
Blazed to expending, and expended.
Then death, where is your sting?
 
Ask not, ‘Where is the deathly sting?’
For it is destroyed, absorbed into nothingness
By love’s holy power. Now
It is only life, life flowing,
Life in quality replete, surging up
Out of the empty tomb. Christ’s grave,
Empty through grace, is the wide room
Of man’s new spirit. Man is in life.
Man is enthroned in the heavens,
Having entered into his glory
Through man’s suffering. Man is high.
Gone then is death’s sting. 
Void in the victory—the ancient 
Annulled victory of the grave. 
Oh, death, where is thy sting?

From The Spirit of All Things, by Geoffrey Bingham, pp.90-92

The Goal Is Holiness

We know from the Bible that it is God’s will for Christians to live godly lives. He desires that we live in a way that is Christlike— reflecting his character and bringing honour to him. To this end God has given us the wonderful gift of his Holy Spirit, and he expects us to be aiming towards holy living each day:

 
Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication . . . For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever rejects this rejects not human authority but God, who also gives his Holy Spirit to you (1 Thess. 4:1–3, 7– 8).

 
The Bible is very explicit in telling us just how holiness, godliness and Christlikeness are to be cultivated in the Christian life. Of course, it is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. However, it is not an activity done ‘over the top of us’ or independently of our direct and deliberate participation. The will is deeply involved, and therefore self-discipline and self-control are fundamental to our spiritual growth.

 

Paul tells young Timothy that he must discipline himself towards godliness: ‘Train yourself in godliness’ (1 Tim. 4:7). He urges Timothy to be self-oriented towards godly living. Clearly, godliness does not just happen in the life of a Christian. God does not come and ‘zap’ us the moment we are converted. It is not automatic, nor does it come about by some sort of natural progression.

 
Godliness comes in the Christian life first and foremost as a result of our new relationship with the Father through Christ and his forgiveness. We are accounted holy and righteous by God because of the death and resurrection of his Son. As we have come to faith in Christ, so we have been united to him. We have come to participate in his holiness. We share his righteousness. We are declared to be all that he is in the eyes of the Father. We are ‘in Christ’.

 
But day-to-day holy living is another matter. It is to flow out of what we already are in Christ, and, among other things, comes in conjunction with self-discipline. Day-to-day godliness comes as a result of being obedient. Godliness comes as we exercise our wills to do and to be what God instructs us to do and be, now that we belong to him and are in Christ. Godliness results from consistent effort and perseverance and endurance. In other words, it is the result of persistent self-discipline, according to the promises, exhortations and teaching of Scripture. 

  

This is not to say that disciplined living is to be equated with holy living. It would be a gross error to think that discipline could ever be a substitute for holiness. The fact is, it’s possible for a person to be very disciplined but without having God or holiness as their object. Paul instructed Timothy to be disciplined, specifically with a view to godliness. So, then, self-discipline is but one of the many important and valuable tools by which God enables us to grow in maturity and become more and more like Christ.

From Running the Race, by John Dunn, pp. 13-15

What's on this week? (June 15–18, 2010)

We have just completed a very good Winter School on the theme, Fighting the Good Fight. All of the messages can be downloaded from our sermonaudio site: just click the button at the top of this page.

The regular weekly classes continue this week: 

Keith Chessell-The Story of God: The Story of God (New Testament) Keith Chessell

• 7.15pm Tuesday–Victor Harbor;
  
• 7.30pm Wednesday–Mitcham.

Victor Harbor High School, George Main Road, Victor Harbor;
Mitcham Baptist Church, 20 Albert St, Mitcham


Tuesdays@NCTM (6.45pm tea, $3),7.30-9.30pm:

The Story of Salvation Andrew Klynsmith and Hank Schoemaker
An interactive overview of the whole Bible, helping to supply a reliable framework for faith in God, especially for younger believers and enquirers.

New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East

Thursdays@NCTM 9.30-11.30am

Creation and the Liberating Glory Trevor Faggotter

God and Prayer Martin Bleby

New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East

Paul

Silly small man, feet pattering,
Feet scurrying across the world:
Small silly man with message
Small and silly as the little man.
 
How can the macrocosm fit,
Becoming a microcosm in the heart?
How can one humanity contain
The supernatural power?
  
Peer into the little man, little heart.
Withdraw perplexed—afraid:
Fear pouring out to timeless reaches
At the dynamic full contained.
 
Here is the dynamic held in little man—
Power’s explosive to shatter worlds
Of even smaller men, and make
A new cosmos—nuclear wine.
 
Down in the little container surges
Exploding power and vibrant thrust
Aimed at destroying larger men and nations:
At most—destroying the darker world.
 
Silly small man, feet pattering,
Fussing across the fearful foam:
Carrying a message in his beating bosom
To blow us all to Kingdom Come!
  
 
 

From The Spirit of All Things, by Geoffrey Bingham, pp. 44-45

Christ's Victory Over Death In The Resurrection

Because [Jesus'] resurrection is unique, it is not easy for us to follow the battle it represented in the moral–spiritual realm where evil still seeks to destroy the good, and so triumph over it. We do, however, have some indications of what happened.

 
The first is that Jesus died in triumph and serenity. He said, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!’ Luke adds, ‘Having said this, he breathed his last’ (23:46). Mark says, ‘And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last’ (15:37). Matthew records, ‘And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit’ (27:50). The ‘loud cry’ may have been that of ‘It is finished!’ or ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!’, or both cries may have been made loudly, but whatever it was he appears to have had great strength before voluntarily laying down his life.

 
The cry of commendation in Luke 23:46 is a quote from Psalm 31. It directs us to the dependence of the psalmist upon God:
  

 In thee, O Lord, do I seek refuge; let me never be put to shame; in thy righteousness deliver me!
Incline thy ear to me, rescue me speedily! Be thou a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!
Yea, thou art my rock and my fortress; for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me,
take me out of the net which is hidden for me, for thou art my refuge.
Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

 
Christ—in the face of death—is dependent upon God, and sure He will deliver him.

The apostles frequently used Psalm 16. In Acts 2:24 Peter says, ‘But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.’ The statement ‘it was not possible for him to be held by it [death]’ is a most significant one. Peter explains this by applying Psalm 16:8– 11:

 
For David says concerning him, ‘For I saw the Lord always before me. for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption. Thou has made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.’ 

  

Paul also quotes part of this Psalm in his first recorded sermon (Acts 13:35). He adds to the quote:

 
For David, after he had served the counsel of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption; but he whom God raised up saw no corruption.  

  

Are we to gather that Christ’s body did not corrupt? The term ‘see corruption’ is a synonym for human death, involving the destruction of the body. Romans 5:12–21 makes it clear that human death as we know it resulted from the Fall. I Corinthians 15:55–56 shows that death’s sting is sin, and sin’s power is (by) the law, ie. the guilt of sin in the face of law that has been transgressed.

 
We are sure that death had no ‘sting’ for Christ. He defeated death before he died. As regards the body he died, but in the Spirit he rose, certifying his defeat of death. It is not absurd to say that his body did not even begin to corrupt. He had died to kill death, and this he did.

 
That does not mean that what to man is ‘the avalanche of death’ did not come upon him: it did, but then it was no ‘avalanche’. It was not possible for death to hold him, and its pangs were no pang. Christ trusted the Father as he went into death. Psalm 16:8 says, ‘I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.’ He adds, ‘Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices ‘ This is a beautiful state of mind. He adds yet again, ‘My body also dwells secure.’ Why is this? Because, ‘For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, nor let thy godly one [Holy One] see the Pit.’
  
Although we cannot enter into his experience of the Tomb and of death, yet we can gather it was a joyful one. He later showed to his followers the Scriptures which pertained to his death and resurrection (Luke 24:27 and 44: ‘ . . . everything written about me in . . . the psalms must be fulfilled’), and doubtless that is why the apostles quote Psalm 16—amongst other Psalms (eg. Psalms 2 and 110).

 
Death, then, through his death and resurrection, lost its sting. ‘He was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.’ The penalty of sin—death—is no more. He who dies in Christ does not die the ‘second death’. He does not come into judgement. ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

 
When the disciples saw Christ risen, they were at first afraid. They trembled, but then ‘they believed not for joy’. The implications of his standing before them must have been immediate. The man who had hung on the cross some days before was now alive! He was so obviously stronger than death, and never had any man been stronger than death ! Thus he must be stronger than sin and all evil. Doubtless his words concerning resurrection then rushed into consciousness. They now knew the utter defeat of sin and death. No wonder ‘they believed not for joy’!

  

  

From Geoffrey Bingham's Christ, The Conquering King, pp. 37-39

What's on this week? ( June 7-14, 2010)

NEXT WEEKEND, beginning Friday evening is the annual Winter School, on Fight The Good Fight. June 11-14. Check out the  brochure at http://www.newcreation.org.au/pdf/WS10_Brochure.pdf

The only cost for the school is for meals. To book in for meals, please use the information on the brochure.

Following the school, on Monday June 14 at 1pm at the New Creation Teaching Centre is an information and question time with regard to the future of the NCTM Ministry and its properties.

On Monday June 7 Martin Bleby will lead the Monthly Ministry Study. This month's theme is Forgiveness Through The Cross Of Christ

The regular weekly classes continue this week:
Mondays@Christies Beach Baptist Church 7.30-9.30pm:

Acts of the Apostles Martin Bleby

Marriage Martin Bleby
  Christies Beach Baptist Church, Fowey St, Christies Beach

Keith Chessell-The Story of God: The Story of God (New Testament) Keith Chessell

• 7.30pm Monday–Mt Barker;
  
• 7.15pm Tuesday–Victor Harbor;
  
• 7.30pm Wednesday–Mitcham.

Mount Barker: Cornerstone College, 68 Adelaide Road, Mount Barker;
Victor Harbor High School, George Main Road, Victor Harbor;
Mitcham Baptist Church, 20 Albert St, Mitcham


Tuesdays@NCTM (6.45pm tea, $3),7.30-9.30pm:

The Story of Salvation Andrew Klynsmith and Hank Schoemaker
An interactive overview of the whole Bible, helping to supply a reliable framework for faith in God, especially for younger believers and enquirers.

New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East

Thursdays@NCTM 9.30-11.30am

Creation and the Liberating Glory Trevor Faggotter

God and Prayer Martin Bleby

New Creation Teaching Centre, 936 Ackland Hill Rd, Coromandel East

David: Psalm 51

Thou requirest truth
In the inward parts:
Not merely on the lips,
Where man may mutter anything,
And seal his subterfuge,
Making it truth for him
And those who hear.
  
Thou requirest truth
When man is truly man:
Down in the depths beneath,
 Where You alone may see:
Man senses but he does not know
That truth is the truth
That You require.
  
I, David, was a man of joy,
Of pleasant power,
Of daily purity.
True, I too was tempted,
But should I fall
Would know I fell
And cry to You for help.
  
When then I fell
And said I did not fall,
When kept within
The hellish sin I did
And made it joy, not sin,
The fires began
That ran into my soul.
  
At nights they burned,
By day they flamed,
Hot coals that dried
Or sweated me
Until the power had gone,
That once I knew
In doubtless joy.
  
When Nathan came
His piercing eyes
Looked to the depths
(His eyes were Yours);
The holy flame
Burned even more.
I was undone.
  
The mercy cried
Was mercy come,
The lava fled
Its burning core,
And I was freed—
The flame was gone
By mercy’s love.
  
The truth required
In inward parts,
The purity
Within the heart
Have come again.
No greater gift
Was ever given.
  
Here then I weep
For grace and sin,
The wasted hour,
The splendid grace:
Both show me truth
Is what I need,
With wisdom.
  
Teach me, then, Lord,
Of sin’s deceit,
The sludge of sin
That full defiles.
Give me the love
Of purity,
The only truth.
  
Now sings my heart,
The heart so pure
The miracle of love
Has made again.
The man destroyed
Is made anew
For purity.
  
I know, dear Lord,
The cost is Yours.
Sin’s suffering
Is mine alone,
But Yours the pain
Messiah takes
Unto the death.
  
Broken I go,
Though healed.
Wisdom I know,
Though foolish.
You have unmasked
The sin that binds,
And set me free.
  
Freedom thus bought
Is freedom prized
And holiness
Is gift most high.
Man breathes eternity
In holiness
And knows You true.
  
This is the wisdom required: 
This is the gift of God 
Set in the inward parts, 
True purity in peace
And holiness in joy.

From The Spirit of All Things, by Geoffrey Bingham, pp.72-74