Whose Truth?
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Whose Truth?
"What is truth?"
"You can't handle the truth!"
"The truth shall set you free."
How many truth quotes do you know? And is the statement of Epimenides the Cretan true, "Cretans are always liars."? (Titus 1.12).
Truth is increasingly cancelled out these days in favour of the views of whichever dominant voices shout the loudest. Does this matter? Can ideas become accepted by the old fashioned method of warfare. Whoever is loudest and strongest wins? It does seem so.
It is part of the idealogical battle being fought in western countries at the moment. A battle that unsettles many because, just like a civil war, one always has to be on one's toes to see how the battle is going and which side to side with. This is made worse by the continuing changes in the issues that the battles seem to be about.
For the battle is not just about any one issue. It seems to be a battle about unsettling all claims to truth, and even personal opinion, in favour of a culture dominated by an unstable Mind. Or a destabilising Mind.
The battle takes away the foundations of reason and truth in favour of a free-floating opinion world. It hijacks important social questions and cancels out any rational or civil discussion of them. It uses loud shouting that makes people feel guilty without the opportunity to a fair hearing. It is a slave society.
Christians on the other hand know true truth from Jesus. We know his gospel as freedom that sets people really free. How do such claims to truth survive in a culture that rejects truth? They survive and have power because of the Creator.
The world we live in has been made by the Creator with a purpose. It has been made for humans to live in and enjoy. We have been made to be friends with the Creator.
So we expect that when things go the way the Creator intended, life will be better and happier. And when the Creator’s purposes and ways of living are rejected then life will be unhappy and messed up.
When the truth shines into the messed up place, it makes sense because it fits the world God created. The undermining of rationality doesn’t change the real world. The truth of Jesus fits the world in a way that the unstable culture doesn’t.
So we don’t need to be afraid, or uncertain, about the gospel. It makes sense because it brings people to know the one whom God has made the ruler of this world. It is an exact fit for people who live in the real world.
Becoming disciples of Jesus is the start of true life.
Dale
Face to Face Psalm 27
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- Category: Psalms
{podcast id=690}
Face to Face Psalm 27
Sermon preached by Dale Appleby for All Saints Jakarta Sunday August 22, 2021
Bible Readings: Psalm 27
YouTube video of this sermon can be seen here
Trails and Temptation
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Trials and Temptations
They have changed the Lord’s Prayer! Many Christians can say the Lord’s Prayer from memory. But every now and then it is changed. The most recent change is in the line “... lead us not into temptation.”
But changes in the prayer go back 2000 years. Compare Matthew 6.9-13 with Luke 11.2-4.
Some changes were made in the modern translations. For example the ending “For thine is the kingdom ..” is omitted in some modern translations and placed in square brackets by others. Only the NKJV retains it in the text. The reason is that the King James version was based on a set of manuscripts that contained later additions to the text (such as this one) which are not found in older and more reliable manuscripts, most of which have been discovered since King James’ day.
However it is the question of God not leading us into temptation that has puzzled many.
The alternative translations include: “...save is from the time of trial”(APBA); “do not put us to the test” (REB); “Do not bring us to hard testing” (GNB); “do not bring us to the time of trial” (NRSV); “Save us from the time of trial” (ELLC English Language Liturgical Consultation).
The difference here depends on how to translate the Greek word peirasmos. Both noun and verb are used a lot in the New Testament (more than 50 times). The word covers a range of meanings. See link below.
Often it refers to trials. For example Luke 22.28 “You are those who have stood by me in my trials.” Or John 6.6 “He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” Or John 8.6 “They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”
It has some unusual meanings (Acts 9.26; 2 Cor 13.5). Its other main use is “temptation”.
To understand this it is worth comparing the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6.13) with the exact same phrase in Matt 26.41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” What temptations were about to face the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane? It is this scene that helps us understand the connection between testing and temptation. The test is to remain faithful to the Lord in the face of the coming arrest. The temptation is to respond to the test by running away.
The New Testament was written in a time of trouble and trial. The pressures and threats they faced tested their loyalty and trust in the Lord. The tests all came with a temptation – to deny the Lord.
One passage that comes closest to a traditional idea of temptation is in 1 Cor 10. It concerns idolatry and sexual sin. But the pressure to live that way came from their world as well as their background. Should the key word here be translated “tempt” or “test”? Especially in verse 9.
Clearly there is an overlap between the two meanings. Testing brings with it a temptation to disobey the Lord. Where the context concerns opposition, pressure, persecution, we should hear the idea of “testing” in the word.
And we who face many pressures as Jesus’ followers can pray this prayer with confidence. Jesus, who faced many trails, urges us to pray to our Father in heaven that he will not lead us into the place where we are tested and tempted to turn away from him. And even when we are, we can trust that “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” (1 Cor 10.13).
Dale
Here is a list of the verses where the word is used in the New Testament
What time is it?
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What time is it? [Versi dalam Bahasa Indonesia di bawah]
So many changes. So much danger. So much disturbance of what we are used to. An unsettling of the earth. A shaking of the foundations. Jesus talked about people’s ability as weather forecasters: you see clouds rising in the west and you know it will rain. The south wind starts blowing and you know it will be very hot (Lk 12.54). But, he said, you don’t know how to interpret the present time.
How shall we interpret our time? On one view fires, floods, cyclones, pandemics, droughts are just part of a regular cycle. Well, yes, of course they are. That makes them more significant not less.
Significant signs pointing to what? To the future? To the present?
All these so-called disasters, calamities, emergencies, catastrophes are pointing to the end. They are warnings and foretastes in miniature of the great and final judgement which will happen when Christ returns. As such they are warnings to get ready. To change our ways. To know that God loves his creation so much that he will one day root out all that is evil and rebellious and corrupt.
The signs also point to the present. This is the time between judgments. Between the death of the Lord Jesus when he took on himself all the judgement for the sins of the whole world, and the time when he will return to bring those who believe in him into his Father’s kingdom and to bring final judgement on those who refuse to obey him. This in between time is the time for change. For repentance, for trusting our lives to the Lord Jesus.
Not only for us. This is the time for salvation for the whole world. These last days are the time when the gospel continues to spread and grow.
These are not times of despair but of hope. Times of opportunity. Not times to retreat or be afraid. This is the time for gospelling. For announcing the great news that the Lord of heaven and earth who is giving us warnings of impending judgement is, at present, only warning us. Now is the time to be saved. Now is the time to find freedom and life with the Creator himself.
Now is the time for good news.
Dale
Kapan Waktunya?
Begitu banyak perubahan. Begitu banyak bahaya. Begitu banyak gangguan dari apa yang biasa kita lakukan. Sebuah kegelisahan di bumi. Sebuah goncangan fondasi-fondasi yang ada. Yesus telah berbicara tentang kemampuan manusia seperti mereka yang dapat meramalkan cuaca: anda melihat awan naik di barat dan anda tahu akan turun hujan. Angin selatan mulai bertiup dan anda tahu itu akan sangat panas (Luk 12.54). Tapi, Ia telah berkata, anda tidak tahu bagaimana menilai zaman ini.
Bagaimana kita mengartikan waktu kita? Di satu sisi, kebakaran, banjir, angin topan, pandemi, kekeringan hanyalah bagian dari sebuah siklus yang tetap terjadi. Baiklah kalau begitu, tentu saja demikian. Hal itu membuat semua lebih berarti, bukan kurang.berarti.
Apa yang ditunjukkan tanda-tanda yang berarti itu? Apakah untuk masa depan? Apakah untuk masa kini?
Semua yang disebut bencana, malapetaka, keadaan darurat, bencana alam ini menunjuk ke suatu akhir. Itu adalah peringatan-peringatan dan awal yang kita rasakan dalam contoh kecil dari penghakiman besar dan terakhir yang akan terjadi ketika Kristus datang kembali. Karena itu semuanya adalah peringatan untuk kita mempersiapkan diri. Untuk mengubah cara kita. Mengetahui bahwa Allah sangat mencintai ciptaan-Nya sehingga suatu hari Ia akan membasmi semua yang jahat, memberontak dan merusak.
Tanda-tanda itu juga menunjuk ke masa sekarang. Ini adalah waktu di antara penghakiman yang satu dengan yang lainnya. Antara kematian Tuhan Yesus ketika Ia menanggung sendiri semua penghakiman atas dosa-dosa seluruh dunia, dan saat Ia akan kembali untuk membawa orang-orang yang percaya kepada-Nya ke dalam kerajaan Bapa-Nya dan untuk membawa penghakiman terakhir atas mereka yang menolak untuk mentaati-Nya. Di antara waktu ini adalah waktu untuk perubahan. Untuk pertobatan, untuk mempercayakan hidup kita kepada Tuhan Yesus.
Waktu ini tidak hanya untuk kita. Ini adalah waktu untuk keselamatan bagi seluruh dunia. Hari-hari terakhir ini adalah waktu ketika Injil terus menyebar dan tumbuh.
Ini bukan saat-saat berputus asa tetapi berpengharapan penuh. Waktu untuk mempergunakan kesempatan yang ada. Bukan saatnya untuk mundur atau menjadi takut. Inilah saatnya untuk menceritakan kabar baik. Untuk mengumumkan berita besar bahwa Tuhan atas langit dan bumi yang memberi kita peringatan tentang penghakiman yang akan datang, yang pada saat ini, hanya memperingatkan kita. Sekarang saatnya untuk diselamatkan. Sekaranglah waktunya untuk menemukan kebebasan dan kehidupan dengan Sang Pencipta itu sendiri.
Sekarang adalah waktu untuk kabar baik.
Dale
diterjemahkan oleh Pak John S
The Image of God Psalm 8
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- Category: Psalms
{podcast id=689}
The Image of God Psalm 8
Sermon preached by Dale Appleby for All Saints Jakarta (Sunday August 8 2021)
Bible Readings: Psalm 8
YouTube video of this sermon can be seen here
True Believers Gal 6.11-17
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- Category: Galatians
{podcast id=688}
True Believers Gal 6.11-17
Sermon preached by Dale Appleby at St George's Carnarvon on Sunday July 11 and All Saints Jakarta on Sunday 25 July 2021
Bible Readings: Galatians 6.11-17
YouTube video of this sermon can be seen here
Doing Good Gal 6.1-10
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- Category: Galatians
{podcast id=687}
Doing Good Gal 6.1-10
Sermon preached by Dale Appleby at St George's Carnarvon on Sunday July 11 2021
Bible Readings: Galatians 6.1-10
YouTube video of this sermon can be seen here
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