Theme for Sunday, July 12: How revival comes by Word and Spirit. Bible study on the set readings — OT: Isaiah 55:10-13, God’s word brings revival as we receive and return it, ; NT gospel: Matthew 13:11-9 and 18-23, Like good seed for the soil we grow and multiply God’s word; NT letter: Romans 8:1-11, Getting the mindset of the Holy Spirit is our personal revival..

Following the set readings (Revised Commmon Lectionary) used across denominations which use a lectionary scheme. Published early to give opportunity to reflect on the word during the week, before hearing it.

• Read the passage and let it speak for itself first. Then go deeper with the help of the verse-by-verse notes. A short reflection following each passage points to the application, and the message of the theme.

Isaiah 55:10–13 — God’s word brings revival as we receive it, share it and pray it back to Him

Isaiah 55:10–13 NIV text

Isaiah verse by verse

Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23 — Like good soil for the seed we are to nurture and multiply God’s truth into a harvest of others

Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23 NIV text

Matthew verse by verse

Romans 8:1–11 — Changing our way of thinking from ourselves to the mindset of the Holy Spirit is personal revival

Romans 8:1–11 NIV text

Romans verse by verse

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• Linked article this week: Understanding… Revival

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Isaiah 55:10–13 — God’s word brings revival as we pray it back

Our taking God at His word transforms us and brings joy and peace

10 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater…

“Do not return without… making it… flourish” — a picture of rain falling and, v.11, “accomplishing” life and growth in the course of return to the clouds.

11″ …so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

“My word that goes out” — like a messenger, Isaiah 9:8; Psalm 107:20. With the sense of being flawless, Psalm 18:30.

“Will accomplish” — especially the promises of vv. 3, 5 and 12 and revealing God, whose ways are “higher”, vv.8-9 and His salvation in general.

“Achieve the purpose” — the kingdom of God in a saving relationship between God and man. It is assumed we will not completely understand this (Isaiah himself was probably perplexed by the Suffering Servant) but salvation requires us to completely accept His “word”.

• For further study, read Isaiah 55:1-9, 52:13-53:12.

12 “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

“Go out… be led forth” — salvation is a joyful (not solemn or penitential) journey, in which all creation resonates. “In peace” — characteristic of the experience of salvation and relationship with God, unlike the wicked, Isaiah 48:22

13 “Instead of the thorn-bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’S renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

“Instead of the thorn-bush… briers” — a reversal of the desolation Isaiah prophesied about earlier, Isaiah 5:6, 32:13. Revival blesses mankind but also enhances everything living.

REFLECTION

THIS WEEK’S sequence of readings (July 12, 2020) from OT to Gospel and then to Letters gives us a clear progression from general to particular, and from ‘doing’ to ‘being’. It gives us a ‘helicopter view’ of God’s eternal purpose expressed by Isaiah, comes to earth with an excerpt of Jesus’ kingdom mission and message from Matthew’s gospel, and then moves to our response in Paul’s teaching.

“My word… will not return to Me empty” goes on to speak of this word coming like a messenger and accomplishing God’s purpose. By itself? No, God always works in partnership, or covenant with His people — people like us. That is a clue to the meaning of the word returning, a kind of circular journey where God speaks, the word is heard and shared, and then returns to Him. But this is no echo. It is a picture of our cooperation, hearing the word, believing and agreeing with it, and praying it back.

As we take hold of it and it becomes part of our expression of worship and intercession, so in an extraordinary way, God’s purpose begins to unfold. He is enthroned on our praise. His blessing becomes evident in joy and peace and renewal, right down to trees and the quality of the shrubs.

QUESTION

What are different ways of God’s word being returned to Him?

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Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23 — Disciples receive and multiply Jesus’ word

Like seed sown in good soil we grow truth into a harvest of others

1–2 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

“Sat by the lake” — the Cove of the Parables near Capernaum was one of a number on Galilee’s shores which provided a natural acoustic for a crowd to hear.

3 Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.

“In parables” — the Greek word parabole means ‘placing beside’ and there are about 30 of these illustrative stories in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Other figures of speech are recorded in John. Parables taught a main point with additional meaning for serious enquirers, and were difficult for Jesus’ enemies to argue with.

4 “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

“Some fell along the path” — paths often crossed fields.

5–6 “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

“Rocky places” — sowing was often carried out before cultivation, hence the variety in the soils.

7 “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

8 “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

“A hundred times” — an outstanding return, like Isaac’s blessed crop, Genesis 26:12, far more than expected. True disciples will be supernaturally fruitful.

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

“Whoever has ears” — a challenge to engage with the meaning and respond.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

“What the parable… means” — a rare instance of Jesus interpreting His own story.

19 “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

“The message about the kingdom” — or “the word of God” in Luke’s account of this story, Luke 8:11.

“Does not understand” — in the sense of believing and understanding. The spiritual kingdom rule of Christ is discerned through faith.

20 “The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

“Falling on rocky ground” — like the hard ground of the path, vv.4, 19, there is no prepared “soil” for the message to take root, because of the rejection of hard-heartedness, or a shallow emotional response without any real change .

21 “But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

“Last only a short time” — wanting the benefits of salvation without accepting the cost of being a disciple.

22 “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

“Deceitfulness of wealth” — a theme in this gospel. God is not against wealth as long was we have faith, know what the real treasure is, and live accordingly.

• For further study, see Matthew 4:8–10, 6:24, 13:44–45; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15–17.

23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

“Produces a crop” — unlike the three soils which produced none, now three levels of being supernaturally fruitful — as disciples are intended to be.

REFLECTION

This well-known story told by Jesus is mis-named the Parable of the Sower. The focus of the story is not about where the seed — the word of God, the message of the kingdom — comes from, but the four kinds of soil where it tries to take root.

Only one turns out to be a receptive environment for the seed to grow and multiply.

Of the other three, the hard path depicts the hardhearted, resistant person; the rocky soil is like the shallow individual; and the weed-choked area represents those preoccupied with priorities of life and success.

The true disciples that Jesus is looking for are like prepared soil with enough emotional depth to receive the seed and to nurture that truth growing in them. Like the three levels of resistance in the ill-prepared soils, the good earth will see different degrees of multiplication, but all will have the hallmark of the kingdom. This is about disciples making many more disciples, Matthew 28:19–20, and the early church and every revival since has seen this kind of person-to-person exponential growth.

QUESTION

What does it means for us to be “one who produces a crop”?

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Romans 8:1–11 — Personal revival is in having the mindset of the Spirit

The way of thinking which begins and ends with ourselves is hostile to God

1–2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

“Therefore” — Paul is concluding the argument of chapters 5-7.

“Condemnation” — a legal word meaning under a guilty verdict and facing its due penalty, and the opposite of justification, Romans 5:1-2, 9, 18. The whole human race is under condemnation from having inherited Adam’s sin, Romans 5:12-6:23; however, every believer in Jesus, although judged by the law to be guilty, Romans 7, is justified, declared free, owing to Christ’s payment of the penalty in self-sacrifice.

“The law of the Spirit who gives life” — law in the sense of controlling power. Formerly this was the law, i.e. control, of sin, Romans 7:21, 25. Now for the believer the ‘control’ is the enabling and leading influence of the Holy Spirit.

3-4 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

“Law was powerless” — it could point out and condemn sin but not enable us to live above it.

“Likeness of sinful flesh” — Christ was incarnated truly human and looking like any other self-centred, independent person — except that He wasn’t.

“Righteous requirement of the law” — for the believer not a route to salvation but a moral compass, internalised and followed out of love for God “according to the Spirit” as an enabling power in us.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

“Live according to the flesh” — NLT rendering: “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.”

6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

“Governed by the flesh” — The Message: “Obsession with self… is a dead end… the opposite of focusing on God.”

7–8 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

“Realm of the flesh… of the Spirit” — describes two mindsets, one with a bias towards sin and independence from God, the other renewed and with a bias towards living for God.

10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

“The Spirit of God… the Spirit of Christ… if Christ is in you” — the language is of the Trinity, one God existing in three persons. The Bible does not explicitly teach the doctrine of the Trinity but passages like this give clear evidence of it.

11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.

“He who raised Christ from the dead… life to your mortal bodies” — the promise of resurrection by the Holy Spirit whose presence is evidenced by a Spirit-controlled life, vv. 4–9 above.

REFLECTION

Here Paul teaches how the power of the word is associated with the mind governed by the Spirit. With the Spirit of God indwelling, the believer in Jesus has a practical, realistic choice to live and think by the leading and enabling of the Spirit, and to say ‘no’ to what Paul calls the flesh, meaning the ego and selfish nature.

This is the word — God’s truth and the expression of the kingdom — working with the Holy Spirit in a life-giving way which transforms how we think and act.

In Isaiah we saw God’s general intention to revive and renew, and Matthew’s account showed Jesus’ mission in miniature in the story He told of how to receive the word given and see it produce a harvest. Then Paul teaches on the ‘being’ aspect, the personal renewal we experience through learning to be led by the Spirit — and pleasing God as we do.

QUESTION

What is the unique gift or attribute that the Holy Spirit brings us? (vv.2, 6, 10, 11)

PRAYER

Lord God, at the beginning of time You spoke the world into existence by Your creative word.

You have never stopped speaking, and Your word is a real force for bringing new life.

May we be fertile soil for hearing Your word, agreeing with Your word and speaking it to each other, and to You.

Help us to partner with the work of Your Spirit in being a joyful, peace-bringing life-giving force for You — and Your glory. Amen.

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Also in the set readings for this week:

Psalm 65:9–13

9 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with, for so you have ordained it.

10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.

11 You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance.

12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.

13 The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

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Theme for Trinity Sunday: The three Persons of the One God at work in creation, mission and fellowship

See also page on Explaining the Trinity

Genesis 1:1-2:4 — God speaks into existence the world, its rhythms and also man in His image

Genesis 1:1-2:4 NIV text

Genesis 1:1-2:4 verse by verse

Matthew 28:16-20 — Apprentices of Jesus are drawn from all kinds of people who become filled with Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Matthew 28:16-20 NIV text

Matthew 28:16-20 verse by verse

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 — Christians carry with them the grace of Jesus, the love of the Father and the belonging of the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 NIV text

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 verse by verse

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Genesis 1:1-2:4 — God speaks into existence the world and its rhythms

Everything created was good, and also man in God’s image

1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

“In the beginning God” – God exists, and existed before creating the universe.

“God created” – God is the plural subject of a singular verb, a mysterious twist which could allude to the Trinity. The word bara used for “created”, literally ‘fashion anew’, is only ever used of God.

3-5 And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’, and the darkness He called ‘night’. And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.

“And God said… and there was” – the absolute power of God, creating in His very words.

“Let there be light” – one of the principal themes of the Bible is that God puts light into darkness and confusion, here in the creation of the daily and weekly cycle.

“The light was good”– everything God does or creates comes out of His innate goodness, also vv. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25.

6-8 And God said, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault ‘sky’. And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day.

“Vault” – expanse; the root meaning is a beaten metal covering or dome.

• For further study, “hard as a mirror” and “like a canopy”, Job 37:18, Isaiah 40:22.

9-10 And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry ground ‘land’, and the gathered waters He called ‘seas’. And God saw that it was good.

“Gathered” – God brings order out of chaos with the three domains of sky, sea and earth. The flood of Genesis 6 reverted to the previous chaos for that time.

11-13 Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the third day.

“Plants bearing seed… trees bearing fruit – creation, fruitfulness and reproduction are set in place for human and animal life to come.

14-19 And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day.

“He also made the stars” – Neighbouring cultures worshipped the stars but in God’s creation, He made them.

20-23 And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 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.’ And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day.

“God created the great creatures of the sea” – which pagan cultures held to be co-eternal with their gods. Hebrew tanninim, creatures, elsewhere refers to crocodiles, powerful monsters or Leviathan – created by God and subject to His sovereignty.

24-25 And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’

“Let us make” – God speaks for His heavenly court of angels, with language that foreshadows the Trinity, an understanding that came much later in God’s progressive revelation.

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.

“In our image” – each living part of creation is designed to reproduce “according to their kinds” and God’s supreme act of creation is creating mankind to share His attributes and qualities, including the rule of His creation, vv.28-29.

28 God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’

“Rule over… every living creature” – In ESV, “subdue… and have dominion”. The idea is investigating and finding the earth’s resources, a mandate for responsible scientific and technological development that respects God’s intentions. The strong term “subdue” (compare Zech. 9:15, Micah 7:19) conveys managing with God’s authority, perhaps foreshadowing sin and Satan’s attempts to gain control, which will need determined stewardship. Jesus’ saying about “violence” coming on God’s good order may reflect this, Matt. 11:12.

29-30 Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so.

“I give you every…” – repeating “every” and “all” emphasises the abundance of God’s provision.

31 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

“Completed” – and perfect, needing no further work or revision, therefore “rest”, vv.2-3.

2-4 By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

“He rested” – the basis for the word Sabbath although that observance did not come until the giving of the Law, Exodus 20:8-11.

REFLECTION

Our first picture of the Trinity is of God the creator of the universe, with the creative Spirit of God present and active over the formless waters. Where is Jesus the Son of God? Also present, although not mentioned in the Genesis account.

John tells us in the opening words of his gospel that Jesus, the Word – or fundamental purpose of God – was with Him in the beginning and instrumental in the creation, John 1:1-3.

The climax of this part of the story is the creation of man as thinking and feeling and caring like God, and given authority to manage earth’s resources well.

QUESTION

How might we seek answers from the Creator to climax change and pollution and energy management?

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Matthew 28:16-20 — Disciples of Jesus are drawn from all kinds of people

Full of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they will continue Jesus’ work

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

“Eleven disciples” – following Judas’ suicide, Matt. 27:5.

17 When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted.

“But some doubted – The eleven believed but this tells us that others accompanied them, possibly the appearance to more than 500 mentioned by Paul, 1 Cor. 15:6.

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

“All authority… has been given” – confirming Jesus’ deity and return to His exalted position as divine Son of God, connecting heaven and earth by His universal lordship.

19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’

“Make disciples” – apprentices of Jesus who would learn to follow and do (better than obey) what Jesus taught and did helped by the Holy Spirit, like Jesus coaching them in person.

“The name” – singular, not names. This earliest Trinitarian verse means there is one true and undivided God who exists as the distinct persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

REFLECTION

The call to be a disciple of Jesus is spelt out in this passage – it is about making other disciples who learn to carry on the ministry of Jesus, who themselves encourage further disciples, and so on. How do we do that?

Those who come to a decision to trust what Jesus has done for them and invite Him to be the influencer of their lives will want to enter the water of baptism to celebrate their new life. That, says Jesus, is a transaction of all three Persons of the one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It is not a ritual but a transformation from the old life to the new, empowered to live it for Jesus, receiving the Father’s love, knowing the reality of Jesus in their lives, and being spiritually renewed.

Despite cruel persecution, the early church grew very rapidly – because this is the way it is designed to work.

QUESTION

How might grow more aware of the slightly different relationships we enjoy with Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

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2 Corinthians 13:11-13 — Christians carry blessings of the three persons of God

Through Jesus we find God’s love and the oneness of the Holy Spirit

11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

“Finally” – Paul’s concluding words in a letter about resolving relational difficulties urge living the life of the Spirit joyfully. The Holy Spirit leads into unity with generosity of attitude and a disposition to build others up, and bring out what God has put in them.

12-13 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All God’s people here send their greetings.

“Holy kiss… God’s people”– literally the hagio kiss of the hagioi, the welcome of the saints. The custom for family reunions was, uniquely in the church, a way of showing acceptance, love and freedom from judgment, bridging differences of race, social standing and gender.

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

“Grace… love… fellowship” – Paul varies the more familiar order to show that through the grace of Jesus, we come to experience the love of God, and receive the Holy Spirit. At the end of a letter dealing with conflicts at Corinth, he gives a succinct formula for the solution.

REFLECTION

The special sense of belonging and oneness with other Christians creates a feeling of family that includes all the rich diversity that we bring as varied individuals. And so family-style greetings need no encouragement.

But that togetherness and affinity is the very area the devil will try to damage, and the as-yet-unrenewed carnality and competitiveness of the Corinth Christians opened that door to trouble.

We can read all about it in Paul’s letters, but the end of his final letter summarises with the remedy: grace towards others, like Jesus, with unconditional love, like the Father, is what releases the genuine fellowship that only the Holy Spirit brings, and leaves little room for the enemy to sow strife.

QUESTION

What does it look like to follow Paul’s instruction to “encourage one another”?

PRAYER

Father, I can draw near to You through knowing what Jesus has done for me, and my halting utterances become prayers of praise and joy and every other expression as I allow Your Holy Spirit to lead me.
May I grow in Your kind of unconditional love, and learn to treat others preferentially as Jesus does — and be a disciple who is always learning the trade with Jesus and encouraging others to be on His team.
Your kingdom come! Amen.

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See also page on Explaining the Trinity

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