That I May Love Him

Missionary Jim Elliot

I walked out to the hill just now. It is exalting, delicious, to stand embraced by the shadows of a friendly tree with the wind tugging at your coattail and the heavens hailing your heart, to gaze and glory and give oneself again to God—what more could a man ask? Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth! I care not if I never raise my voice again for Him, if only I may love Him, please Him.

Mayhap in mercy He shall give me a host of children that I may lead them through the vast star fields to explore His delicacies whose finger ends set them burning. But if not, if only I may see Him, touch His garments, and smile into His eyes—ah then, not stars nor children shall matter, only Himself.

“O Jesus, Master and Center and End of all, how long before that Glory is Thine which has so long waited Thee? Now there is no thought of Thee among men; then there shall be thought for nothing else. Now other men are praised; then none shall care for any other’s merits. Hasten, hasten, Glory of Heaven, take Thy crown, subdue Thy Kingdom, enthrall Thy creatures.””

JIM ELLIOT

From New Testament Synagogue to Home Assembly

It can be confusing. After the birth of the assembly of Christ; seemingly, Christians just start meeting without any planning or protocol. They just start “doing church.” Unfortunately, the fact that the New Testament assembly was essentially Jewish for a number of years was a shocking revelation to me. Folks can say all they want about Baptists correcting Reformation anti-Semitism—it just isn’t so. Baptists have done nothing to preserve the Jewish roots of the church, and more than likely, the overall ignorance concerning our Jewish roots is foundational to most of the problems we see today within the Evangelical church. A proper understanding of the New Testament assembly model is critical to our philosophy of ministry.

Acts 10 and 11will give you a good perspective on how Jewish the church was—the Gentiles were recognized as part of the same body with much controversy and ado. Once you understand this, it is assumed that New Testament believers simply followed the form of worship that they were already accustomed to. Let’s not forget; for many Jews, the birth of Christ’s assembly was a major event, but not a conversion for them. Many were already born again before the cross (see John 3). So, what you see in New Testament assemblies was pretty much what was going on in the Jewish synagogues prior to Pentecost.

Therefore, it is no surprise to see the apostolic church ministering at the temple, in synagogues, and in homes. It was a natural transition, and a reflection of what had been happening at Jewish synagogues.

The synagogue is a concept that began sometime prior to the exodus. An Old Testament word search of “elder” makes it abundantly clear that elders led groups of people within Israel. During the exodus, the tabernacle was the primary focus for ritual, and God’s people were divided into small groups of learning overseen by elders. Again, a simple word search and observance of how the word is used in the Old Testament makes this abundantly clear. Though these small groups served many critical functions, the primary focus was that of learning. Traditionally, the synagogue is known as Bet Midrash (house of study), Bet Tefillah (house of prayer), and Bet Knesset (house of assembly).* Today, many synagogues have floor plans that accommodate these major ideas; a room for assembly, a room for prayer, and a room for study.

This is a longstanding tradition, and consequently, we see the same pattern in the book of Acts. Certainly, the concept of synagogue was institutionalized, and the first century was no exception. The first century synagogue, numbering around 400 in Jerusalem alone, was a combination of politically well-connected and highly structured centers and less formal home assemblies that were strictly that of the laity.** Along with being well connected with state politics, many of the institutionalized synagogues integrated Greek and Roman paganism into Judaism. † Due to the traditional Jewish mentality in regard to synagogues; i.e., the term “small sanctuary” was used interchangeably between the assembly and the family, ** the assemblies were unaffected by these unfortunate integrations if they chose to be, and many were.

Note: Christ’s assembly grows from 120 to 3000 in one day according to Acts 2:41, and in the following verse we read, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Where to put all of these people and what to do with them was of no issue, they merely returned to their existing assemblies, primarily in homes, and continued in the synagogue tradition. Acts 2:46 makes it clear that they met at the temple and had fellowship meals in their homes which would have also included teaching, prayer, the remembrance, and a departure with the singing of a hymn. The so-called last supper would have been very indicative of what went on during these assembly/synagogue meetings.

But also remember, the Jews that made up the apostolic assembly were VERY aware that the temple was temporary. In fact, after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD,

Following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E., the rabbis decided the home would be the mikdash m’at—"small sanctuary"—a holy place responsible for fostering the family's spiritual life.††

In addition, Christ’s ministry probably produced many solid synagogues prior to Pentecost.

This model continued predominately for the next 200 years, and there is no reason to think that Christ prescribed any alternatives.

Paul

Notes:  

*George Robinson: Essential Judaism; Pocket Books 2000, p. 46.

**Louis H. Feldman and Meyer Reinhold: Jewish Life and Thought Among Greeks and Romans; Augsburg Fortress 1996, p. 68.

†Louis H. Feldman and Meyer Reinhold: Jewish Life and Thought Among Greeks and Romans; Augsburg Fortress 1996, p. 73.

†† Jewish Home & Community: My Jewish Learning.com; Online source | http://goo.gl/N6Udu6

paulspassingthoughts | January 28, 2014 at 6:18 pm | Tags: Christianity, Church, Judaism | URL: http://wp.me/pmd7S-2Ln

Joy Unspeakable

Joy must be very important because it is often encouraged and taught in the Bible. 

It is more than feeling happy. It is definitely more than giggling and laughter. 

Joy is a deep satisfaction that you have made the right decision, especially in the direction of God's will. 

It is the harvest of the seeds of faith that you have sown some time ago. It is the fruit of the Spirit. 

Most importantly, joy is Jesus! 

Let Jesus embrace you today and let your joy be full.

"Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory," 1Peter 1:8

Rev Albert Kang

Simple But Unusual Prayer

Challenging the Congregation to Worship with all their hearts

Last Sunday (21 November 2010) was a good day of worship and ministry in our church. 

During the worship, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to walk up the stage and challenge our congregation to worship freely. It was an unusual move. The usual sequence of our service is for the worship leader to hand the stage to the person making the announcement. 

However, on that day, the Holy Spirit was ready to do a deeper work. Many were indeed touched by His presence. 

After the service, I totally forgot about this matter until a Pakistani brother told me a strange request that he had made.

During the worship, this Pakistani brother was praising God as the worship team led. However, he was not spiritually satisfied and felt he needed to go further in depth in worship. He prayed for "pastor to go up and take over the worship". 

In fact, he and his family were sitting one row behind my wife and me. It's amazing that he was actually making such quiet request. The Lord heard him and that was why the prompting was extremely strong for me to take over the worship.

High Praisers dedicating their lives to the Lord at the end of the service

The Pakistani brother said that he was really surprised when he saw me walking to the stage. That day, a number of worshippers testified about experiencing the deep presence of God working within them. Among these, was our Pakistani brother's wife. She had felt dry and then after the worship, the Holy Spirit just refreshed her weary soul.

Through this incident, I learn that I must never be afraid of tradition. I may never have done it this way at High Praise Church before but I must remain obedient to the voice of God. 

When the Holy Spirit makes us do strange things or things that are out of the norms, He has His own intention. We are, but servants! We have to listen carefully or else those who need to be blessed by Him may miss out of such blessing.

Rev Albert Kang

Pastoral Advisor

High Praise Church