“The Presence of the Lord”. 15/1/17

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

A symbol of the presence of God with men was the ark of the covenant. God gave His people a physical representation of His presence among them. It was a box about 1.2 metres long and slightly less than a metre wide and high. It was covered with gold and contained: The stone tablets of the ten commandments, representing the power of His word. A pot of manna, representing His miraculous provision. Aaron’s rod that budded, representing His grace, His mercy and choice.

And on the top of this beautiful golden box were the two cherubim facing inwards towards “the mercy seat.” God said, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak to you from above the mercy seat.” (Exodus 25:10-22). On the Day of Atonement the priest would sprinkle blood on “the mercy seat” as a symbol of God’s forgiveness, and history tells us they sprinkled it in the shape of a cross.

This symbol of God’s presence with man was a symbol of His grace and mercy. Because the ark was so important and so precious it was the focus of battles. The Jewish people carried it into battle. They carried it into the Jordan River as God divided the water and His people went in to possess the Promised Land. Joshua’s priests carried it around Jericho and the walls “fell down flat.”

One time the wicked, idol-worshiping Philistines defeated the Israelites in battle and captured the ark. Philistines worshiped idols, the main one being Dagon, which had the arms, head and torso of a man and the lower body of a fish. They considered it to be the father of Baal. It was in the temple of Dagon where Samson was brought, bound, blinded and defeated to “perform”. He performed alright! He took hold of the two central supporting pillars and God strengthened him “just this once” and he brought down the entire temple, killing more than 3,000 Philistines. (Judges 16:25-30)

1 Samuel 5:1-3 The Philistines “took the ark of God… into the house of Dagon and… set it up by Dagon.” But to their surprise, when they went in “early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the Lord.” They thought that their military victory over Israel meant that their idol was more powerful than God. Every power of darkness, every manifestation of evil and of Satan must fall before the presence of the Lord.

Verse 3: “So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.” With great effort they stood it up again, next to the ark.

Verse 4: But early the next day “there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and both palms of its hands were broken off.”

1 Samuel 6:20 “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God?”

Philippians 2:9-11 leaves us in no doubt about the completeness and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The ark represented the presence of God then, but how does God demonstrate His presence now?

Acts 7:48 “The Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Luke 17:21 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.”

The ark of the covenant had its day, but now you represent the presence of God in the world, among all people; those who worship Him and those who do not. “The mercy seat” that was on the original ark has been replaced by God’s mercy in you, to be extended to all people, no matter what they have done or where they have been.

When you arrive, the presence of God arrives with you. The kingdom of darkness is defeated when you come in the name of Jesus. Now, more than at any other time in history, the world needs a revelation of the love, the grace and the mercy of God and the way that God has planned for that to happen is not at a gold covered box but through you!

As 2017 unfolds; as we expand “to the right hand and to the left” moving out of our base of operati(continued)

A Church for the New Year 1/1/17

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

A wonderful model for the New Testament, or New Covenant Church; a church for the New Year, is the church at Antioch. Antioch was a coastal city in Syria. When the early Christians fled there, escaping the persecution that followed the murder of Stephen, the people there received the gospel enthusiastically and went on to become the base for Paul, Barnabas and the early church, sending them and their teams all over Europe and Asia Minor with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The first ten chapters of Acts are centred in Jerusalem, where it all began, but from Chapter 11 onwards the emphasis shifts to Antioch, a Gentile city. It became a vibrant church, moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. They fulfilled the Great Commission of Jesus to “go into all the world”, preaching, teaching, baptizing and making disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20). And Jesus’ instructions have never changed!

So let’s look at some of the main aspects of the marvelous Antioch Church that reveal to us why it was so fruitful and such an example to us all.

• They took in the rejected and persecuted.

Acts 11:19-20, Acts 8:1 The ones who were “scattered” fled for refuge to cities like Antioch. It has been said that without the persecution that arose, perhaps the gospel would not have spread so far so quickly: “all things work together for good…” (Romans 8:28)

The heart of the Antioch Church was to receive and to care for the rejected and the marginalized, as should every Church which follows Jesus Christ. The heart-beat of Jesus has always been for the broken and the needy. (Matthew 25:35-40)

Jews and Gentiles in Antioch came to Christ. People came there from Cyprus and Cyrene and preached to the Greeks there “and the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.”

• Their growth was based on sound and powerful preaching and teaching of God’s word.

Acts 11:22-26 Barnabas began, then he went all the way to Tarsus to find Apostle Paul and bring him to Antioch, and they “assembled with the church and taught a great many people.” And the church grew and became strong.

We must have anointed preaching and teaching of God’s word. That is the way that He has chosen for us to know His heart and be made “clean and sanctified”, growing in our walk with Him.

• They were a Church who gave to others.

Verse 27-30: When Prophet Agabus brought word that there was to be “a great famine throughout all the world” the Antioch Church did not close ranks and look after themselves only; they “determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.” A generous heart attracts the favour of God.

• They were a Missionary sending Church.

Acts 13:1-4 The number of preachers, teachers, prophets, ministers and leaders was growing. They were fasting and seeking the Lord, and heard the voice of the Holy Spirit: “Separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” The ministry of God’s word, fasting and prayer, will open our hearts to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit; but then we must have the courage to obey, and they did… and through their obedience and generosity millions of people heard and responded to God’s word and received salvation in Jesus Christ.

• They resisted dead religion and legalism and held on to Christ’s message of grace and love for all people.

Acts 15:1-5 A growing, vibrant, grace-filled Church can attract those whom Paul described as “not straightforward about the truth of the gospel.” They try to take away the power and the completeness of all that Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross to draw people to a “law based” relationship with God. Like the Church at Antioch, we must resist the temptation to control through legalism and be “straightforward”! Straight ahead with Jesus, ministering the freedom and the grace of God to all.

Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:21-24

So here we(continued)

Jesus, Friend of Sinners - Ps. Bill Page - 18.12.16

Prelude Rachael's Testimony

“Friend of Sinners”” 18/12/16

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

Jesus’ whole life and ministry was characterized by the way He related to all people, especially the rejected, the marginalized, the broken and the sinful. He chose to spend so much of His time with people who amounted to nothing in the eyes of the world and the religious leaders. And these same religious leaders cried out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” because He didn’t fit their religious mold. They lied about His resurrection, fiercely persecuted the early Church, and followed Apostle Paul from place to place, stirring up the crowds and the Roman authorities to try to stop this movement which, in their own words, had “turned the world upside down.”

Matthew 11:18-19 Many did not receive John because he looked unusual and he fasted often. “He has a demon” they said. But Jesus came “eating and drinking” with all kinds of “sinners” and they accused Him of being a glutton and a drunk! Never be led or influenced by the crowd. Be led by the Spirit of God and He will “guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)

Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus was gathering His disciples, whom He chose to live with Him, learn His word and His ways, be filled with His Holy Spirit and then take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, clearly He could see something in this motley band of fishermen, tax collectors and others that the world and the religious leaders missed completely. And He chose well; they went out and completed the mission He gave to them.

But as Jesus was calling them, others could not believe that He could be the Messiah because of the people He surrounded Himself with, but that is exactly how His Heavenly Father had called Him to minister.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 “God has chosen the foolish things of this world… that no flesh should glory in His sight.”

When Jesus recognized in Matthew exactly the qualities He was looking for, ignoring his past and the fact that Matthew was a hated tax collector for the Romans, He simply said, “follow Me” and Matthew “arose” from his tables and his ledgers and “followed Him.” Others must have raised their eyebrows, saying, “He has called him?”

But now we see the “ripple effect”: “As Jesus sat at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Him and His disciples.” What a dinner party that would have been! All these “sinners” feeling welcome in His presence and at His table, checking Him out, listening to His words, asking questions and wondering what their friend Matthew was going to do now.

Jesus was also intentionally showing His disciples (and us) how He wanted this ministry done, and He is “the same, yesterday and today and forever”. (Hebrews 13:8). He came to call “sinners to repentance.”

What was the result of His being a “friend of sinners”?

• The woman at the well led a whole city to Jesus.

• The Gadarene demoniac evangelized his relatives and the surrounding communities.

• Zaccheus repaid all of the money he had stolen and said, “I give half my goods to feed the poor.” (Luke 19:8)

By and large, the modern Church has forgotten how to be a “friend of sinners”. We have become the judges of sinners, the critics of sinners and the gossipers of sinners and we have gotten away from the purity of the mission of Christ that He has passed on to us. And the last place that many “sinners” want to go is to Church, the one place where they should find love, grace, forgiveness and salvation, because they think that they will be judged there, and unfortunately, in many cases, they are right.

Luke 2:8-14 At the birth of Jesus, the first people to whom the angels appeared, bringing “good tidings of great joy”, telling them “there is born to you this day a Saviour” and to go and worship Him were “shepherds living out in the fields.” They were “living out in the fields” because they were consi(continued)

“The Author & Finisher of our Faith” 11/12/16

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

Revelation 1:11 Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.” “Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Every kind of written communication in Jesus’ day was contained between these two letters: He is “the Word of God.” (John 1:1). He is “the First and the Last.”

Colossians 1:15-17 Christ is pre-eminent in all things. He is “the firstborn over all creation. He is before all things and in Him all things consist.” He always has been and He always will be. For about 33 years the eternal Christ became a man like us. He lived in a body like ours, subject to all of the hungers, desires and temptations that we face and “was in all points tempted as we are” yet He was “without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

Jesus had to be “without sin” so that He could take away all of ours and die to pay the price for them so that we could be made clean and righteous in the eyes of God, and be saved. Then on the third day after He died that horrible “death of the cross” He rose again, gloriously alive forever, to show us what can be our future!

In order for you and me to receive all that our Heavenly Father has for us, all we need to do is to “believe”; to have faith in Jesus Christ; that He is who the Bible says He is. When we truly “believe” in Him and receive His sacrifice for all of our sin; past, present and future; then we want to live a life that is pleasing to Him. We repent of our sin, turning away from it, knowing that, because of His love and His grace towards us, He will never reject us. He paid the price for our freedom and our future. All we need to do is have faith in Him.

John 1:12 So we receive Him, we “believe in His name” and we have “the right to become children of God.” It’s the believing that gives us “the right.”

John 3:16, 18 “Whoever believes in Him…”

John 20:31 “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” So “life” comes by “believing”: having faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9

So we see that our faith in Jesus Christ is the critical, deciding factor of our future. We can read about Him, come to Church and hear about Him, listen to our friends talk about Him and even see His miracles, but unless we “believe” we are lost; doomed to struggle through life and then go to an eternity without Him. So how do we get this faith?

Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Galatians 3:2 Speaks of “the hearing of faith.”

God is all around you. His Spirit is here right now, loving you and calling you into a relationship with Him through faith. But we are not always conscious of this:

Genesis 28:10-16 After the strife with his brother Esau, Jacob fled to a place called Haran (means: “mountainous”). Sometimes we face struggles and hardship, just like Jacob. Up there in the rugged mountains he found a stone for a pillow and tried to sleep. During the night “he dreamed” and God spoke to him in the midst of his loneliness and his troubles and promised him “the land on which you lie” and that his descendants would possess all of the surrounding country.

Verse 16: “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.’” You and I may be troubled and may feel rejected and alone, but we are never away from the love and care of God! Jacob said, “I did not know it.”! Many of us are the same. Jacob was not perfect; far from it; but God was watching over him all the same.

Hebrews 13:5 “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

Hebrews 12:1-2 Have faith in Jesus! He is your answer!

The “greater cloud of witnesses” are the heroes of faith in Chapter 11, who overcame such terrific odds to triumph for God. So what should we do?

• “Lay aside every weight”, the things that wei(continued)

Repentance, the Doorway to Salvation 4/12/16

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

Before Jesus began His ministry, God sent a “fore-runner”, a wild man with a reputation for strong messages and unusual behavior, to “prepare the way”. The wilderness area where John lived and ministered stretched 32km from the plateau of Jerusalem down to the Jordan River, and then on to the Dead Sea. It was common for desert-dwellers of John’s day to eat locusts and some other insects, as they were considered “clean” (Leviticus 11:21-22) But the forces of darkness as well as worldly motivations wanted to kill the Christ child before He could even begin to make a difference (not much has changed). So God told Joseph to take Mary & Jesus to Egypt.

Matthew 2:13-15 It’s fascinating that God led His Son back to the very place where He had brought Moses and His people out of slavery and bondage hundreds of years before with powerful signs and miracles. Now Jesus would come “out of Egypt”, also with powerful signs and miracles, to begin His ministry; not only for the Jews who had been slaves in Egypt but for the whole world that has been held in bondage by Satan. And His blood would not only save those in the houses with the blood on the doorposts, but for every family.

Matthew 3:1-6 The God-given ministry of John was to prepare the way for the Son of God by preaching a message of repentance. This prophecy from Isaiah refers to a servant of the King going ahead of him, ordering the repair of the roads for the King’s visit. People responded in their thousands, convicted by the Holy Spirit, “confessing their sins” being “baptized by him in the Jordan.”

Verse 2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, would establish the “kingdom of heaven” on the earth, and the only way for man to enter in is by “confessing their sins” and repenting; turning away from them and receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. And that has never changed. Adam & Eve were deceived by Satan to rebel against God and all of mankind has been paying the price ever since.

In order to reverse the consequences of this, and to come into right relationship with God, we all must “repent”; to turn away from sin to the Lord. (Acts 11:21). We turn our backs on our old life and turn our faces towards Him and all that He has for us.

“Repentance is a decision that results in a change of mind which in turn leads to a change of purpose and action.” In Pidgin: “Tanim Bel” = “Turn your heart.”

In Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter, powerfully baptized with the Holy Spirit, “standing up” in the crowded streets of Jerusalem, “raised his voice” after the explosion of “tongues” that had come from the 120 disciples who had come from the “upper room” into the streets “glorifying God”. He told the crowds all about Jesus being the sacrifice for their sin and their only hope of salvation. When the people became convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sin, they asked, “What shall we do?” to which Peter replied, “Repent… every one of you.” (Verse 37-38). Peter knew that the people needed to turn away from their sin and receive salvation in Christ.

Acts 17:30 “God… now commands men everywhere to repent.”

John paved the way for the entrance of the Son of God with a message of “repentance”. For you and me today, the way that we prepare for the entrance of the Son of God into our lives is exactly the same.

Matthew 3:11 John said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance.” Our confession, our repentance and accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour washes the old life away. Water baptism is a symbol of that washing.

Verse 8: “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” Genuine repentance produces the evidence of “fruits” in our lives: Righteousness replaces sin, love replaces hate, faith replaces fear and doubt, peace replaces stress and anxiety, joy replaces sorrow.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess o(continued)

Upside Down World 27/11/16

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

Last Sunday we saw that as we follow the Holy Spirit, the man with “the pitcher of water”, He will lead us into a closer and closer relationship with Jesus, and our faith can’t help but grow.

Luke 8:22-25 Here we see a powerful demonstration of the authority of Jesus. You and I are in the company of the King of Kings! Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

We see this “authority” operating throughout Jesus’ life:

Calming the storm, Withering the fig tree, Healing the sick, Raising the dead, Casting out demons. The storm could not stop Jesus from going where the Father called Him to go. Satan sends storms to stop us too.

Luke 8:26-36 Because of the demons, this man was unclean, violent and uncontrollable. “The tombs” were cave rooms with many bodies in various stages of decay. But Jesus exercised His authority and cast his many demons into the pigs (2,000 pigs: Mark 5:13)

Verse 35: The man was delivered; set free:

• “Sitting at the feet of Jesus.” Submissive, teachable.

• “Clothed.” The unclean spirits are now gone.

• “In his right mind.” His mental torment is healed. Demons of self-harm and suicide are defeated.

Like so many of us: our lives have been transformed by Jesus. But…

Verse 37: “Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them.” What? No more miracles. He left. There were 2,000 dead pigs floating in the lake, the mad man now sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet: He has turned everything upside down! So they said, “Get out!”

Acts 17:6 When Apostle Paul and his team came to Thessalonica, ministering the gospel with power, the religious leaders said, “Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” That is what should happen when we are moving in the power and the authority of the Holy Spirit. Whole communities can be transformed. We reverse the order of the world and of Satan. Individual lives, families, communities and even whole nations can spend generations under the domination of the kingdom of darkness, but when the power and authority of Jesus Christ arrives everything is changed! He turns the world “right side up”!

The man who had been set free “begged Him that he might be with Him”. Those who have had a genuine experience of the love, the grace and the release that only Christ can give, want more! We want to be where He is!

People can respond to the authority and healing power of Jesus Christ in different ways.

Verse 40: “So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.” Now, more miracles: the bleeding woman is healed, Jairus’ daughter is raised from the dead… and much more was to follow. Two different “multitudes”. One blocked the power of God through “unbelief” while the other welcomed Him and received miracle after miracle.

Verse 48: As Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has made you well.”

Faith releases the miracle power of God. Unbelief (which is a sin) stops it in its tracks.

Hebrews 3:12 “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief.”

Verse 14-19: The Israelites were all “under the cloud”, led by the Lord right to the Jordan River, with the “Promised Land” just on the other side. All they had to do was cross over and possess it. It was “Promised” to them by God Himself! But they turned back into the wilderness, refusing to trust God in this final, critical part of their journey. They paid a terrible price for their “unbelief.” But our “faith” unlocks the windows of heaven.

Hebrews 4:2 When we hear “the gospel” it must be “mixed with faith in those who heard it.” These words

of the gospel are life, and it is going out all over the world today. Some will hear it but will harden their

hearts in “unbelief”. Others will “mix” it with “faith” and their lives will be totally transformed:(continued)

The Man with the Water 20/11/16

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

Thank-you for your prayers as Ps Corrie, Ps Joe and I went to PNG. It was a marvelous and inspiring time. Ps Timothy Tipitap’s vision: Churches, Health Centres, CHW & Nurse Training. Vocational Schools, Primary & secondary schools + International School. At the Secondary School Graduation: 652 graduates!

And if you ask Ps Timothy, he will say that it is all because of the love and grace of Jesus Christ, and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Do you want to achieve great things in your life? Be successful and fruitful in the Kingdom of God? Then give your life to Jesus. Repent of your sin and allow Him to truly be your Lord, and then receive the power of the Holy Spirit to guide you every step of the way, every day, and He will surely lead you to glory.

Mark 14:12-16 This was the most important occasion in the Jewish calendar. It was about the forgiveness of their sin. It looks back to when God released His people from slavery in Egypt. If “the blood of the lamb” was on the doorway of the house. The Angel of death would “Pass over” everybody who was inside.

Of course, Jesus is our “Passover Lamb”; there is no need for another. He was “perfect”, without sin, and understanding all that was about to happen to Him, He prepared for this significant “Passover”.

When His disciples asked Him where He wanted to eat the “Passover”, He gave them specific instructions:

Verse 13: “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water: follow him.” Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen, in your life and in the destiny of nations. Men did not usually carry the pitchers of water; that was woman’s work, and here it is a picture of humility and service… just like Jesus! Jesus said, “Follow him… wherever he goes.” The man is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13 Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “He will guide you into all truth.” He led the Apostles and the early Church and He is still leading His Church today.

Acts 1:8 He still empowers and leads believers into every corner of the world. The water is representative of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Ezekiel 47:1a, 3-10, 22-23 It all begins in the House of God, where we gather to worship Him and receive His word. Then the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit come, and flow “out the door”, making a “river” that gets deeper and deeper, wider and wider until it becomes “a river that could not be crossed”. We will never exhaust the depths and the power that the Lord makes available to us through His Holy Spirit.

These “rivers of living water” flow “down into the valley” where the broken and needy people are, then it “enters the sea” and “its waters are healed”. Oceans are a prophetic picture of the nations of the world. “Everything will live wherever the river goes.” Healing, miracles, forgiveness, salvation, revival, new life… all accompany the flow of the Holy Spirit, and “whoever” decides to jump in will be accepted!

John 7:37-39 As Jesus prepared to give His life, He “cried out”, inviting “whoever” is thirsty for life to “come to Me and drink” and receive those “rivers of living water.”

“This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.”

Now, on “the night that He would be betrayed” when Jesus would become our own “Passover Lamb” He told His disciples to follow the man with the “pitcher of water”. Come and follow the Holy Spirit; He will guide you and watch over you until you come to “a large upper room, furnished and prepared.”

John 14:2-3

Passover Follow Glory

Death of Christ the Holy Spirit Prepared for us

Today, there are so many things trying to convince us to follow them, but all other roads l(continued)

Faith to be Healed - Ps. Joe Pulea - 13.11.2016

Faith - Ps. Ben Hakalitz - 6.11.16

Washed & Clean 30/10/16

A Message by Pastor Bill Page, Living Light Gospel Church, Cairns.

John 13:1-9 “Supper being ended” and Jesus knew that “the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot… to betray Him”.

Verse 4-5: Jesus knew that everything was about to change in the most dramatic way. He “laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself… and began to wash the disciple’s feet.” In what was perhaps the most important night in history, when the Son of God was going to yield up His life, totally defeating Satan and the kingdom of darkness, taking away “the sin of the world”, He took off His clothes, put a towel around His waist and washed dirty feet! He became the lowest slave of the house. What was He doing? Why didn’t He call them all to a powerful time of prayer, or talk to them about how to be victorious over Satan? Because He was showing them in the most powerful way, how to gain the victory in the spirit realm.

Verse 6: Peter was amazed that Jesus would humble Himself to wash his feet.

Verse 7: Jesus knew that Peter and the others would not understand then, but that they would later, after receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

Verse 8a: “Peter said to Him, ‘You shall never wash my feet!’” There are people all over the world who, like Peter, are saying, “I can do it myself. I don’t need You to wash me. I’m OK.” People think that they can be made right with God by their own works, by their flesh or by “the works of the law”, not realizing that we are all dirty! Whether we admit it or not, every one of us needs Jesus to wash away the filthiness of our lives. We must humble ourselves. Only Jesus can wash us and make us clean. We must rest in His grace and His love and allow Him to take the dirtiest parts of us, of our past and also our present, and hold us and lovingly wash it all away.

We cannot do it ourselves. We rest and allow Somebody else to wash us!

Psalm 51:1-2 King David knew that his relationship with God was the most important part of his life, but he had sinned terribly with Bathsheba, even arranging the murder of her husband Uriah, so he could have her. He said, “My sin is ever before me.” It was eating him up, but he knew the answer. To “acknowledge” his sin, to call for the “mercy” of God. to allow the Lord to “wash me thoroughly… and I shall be clean.”

You and I may not have committed adultery or murder, but “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Every one of us needs a thorough washing by Jesus.

Verse 8b: But Jesus answered him, NLT: “But if I don’t wash you, you won’t belong to Me.”

Jesus approaches each one of us, overflowing with His love and grace. He is prepared to take the dirtiest parts of us (like the disciple’s feet) and wash us completely clean. We can try to deny our dirtiness or even attempt to clean ourselves up, but without the touch of Christ it will not happen. We will remain in our sin.

If we don’t allow Him to wash us, we cannot belong to Him. Allow Jesus to take you in His arms & wash you.

Revelation 1:5 Jesus, “who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” NLT

As Jesus knelt in front of Peter, ready to hold his dusty feet in His hands and wash them, He wasn’t just speaking about washing feet. He was pointing them towards the shedding of His blood to wash all of us, to enable us to approach our holy Heavenly Father. Like the priests in the Old testament who underwent all kinds of washings so that they were clean enough to enter “the Holy of Holies”, now we are washed by Another, cleaner than any Old Testament priest, and by that washing of “the blood of the Lamb”, Jesus Christ, we are clean enough to come to God and to be part of His family forever.

Isaiah 53:5-6, 12 “He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sins of many.” The most important “washing” any of us will ever receive is with “t(continued)