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THE THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL THANKSGIVING CONFERENCE OF BETHEL GOSPEL CHAPEL Giving thanks always for all things unto God the father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Eph. 5:20 BETHEL GOSPEL CHAPEL MONTREAL INC. NEWS AT BETHEL GOSPEL CHAPEL MONTREAL INC. ARTICLES AT BETHEL GOSPEL CHAPEL MONTREAL INC. The Publican and the Pharisee. Luke Chapter 18 verses 9 to 14 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. What is humility, and what is arrogance? As pertaining to what others see, and then What God sees... We are rather familiar with the story of The Publican and the Pharisee. In Jewish society, these two groups represented the two extremes. Or we can say, on one hand, all that is bad in our society and on the other hand, all that is good and acceptable in society. The story of the Publican and the Pharisee can also be looked into on two fronts; what man sees and what God sees. As far as man is concerned, the Publican represents all that is bad and evil in our society. Let us look at the role of the Publican in Jewish society. A Publican was a person who worked for the enemy. Throughout history we have accounts of local folk working on behalf of an occupying force. During World War 2, we had accounts of local people working on behalf of the German forces. These people were hated and despised by the local population. Imagine spying on your neighbours and reporting them to the enemy. After the war, it was noted that these people were put on trial, found guilty, and then put to death. They were known as collaborators. In Jewish society, this took on an even more serious consequence. The Publican then was the person who solicited favour and enlisted himself to work for the Roman Governor. Obviously when you are bent on world domination, you would spread yourself too thin and thereby you would have to enlist the help of the locals, and appoint them to certain civic duties. Therefore then, the Publican was known as the sell-out, the turn –coat; the sinner. In Jewish society, there was no other so despised, no other so evil. The major role of the Publican was to collect the taxes for the Romans. The Romans didn’t really care how these taxes were collected. They only cared about getting the taxes collected. So in effect, the Publican had his territory and he ran this Franchise. The Publican collected the taxes and he got his cut. Moreover, he could exact any amount of taxes from the population even above and beyond what was required. He kept the surplus for himself. In effect the Publican became grossly wealthy or as we might put it, filthy rich. This wealth came on the backs of his fellowman. This wealth came from the poorest in the society. To the Jew, this was evil; this was contemptible. This was ungodly. As far as Jewish society was concerned, God wanted nothing to do with these Publicans. In one instance, Jesus was even frowned upon for having fellowship with a publican. He was castigated for having dinner with a sinner. How dare he associate with the enemy? In fact, nobody wanted to associate with the Publicans. As a matter of fact, they were considered extortionist. No one wanted to associate with the Publicans. They were the dredges of society. They ranked up there with adulterers, fornicators and murderers. The Pharisee on the other hand, represented to the Jewish society, all that was right, just clean and pure in society. He represented the quintessence of morality. In effect he was considered to have good moral fibre. In effect they were considered to be the pillars of society. They were considered to be holy and righteous. The Pharisees were considered to be God’s kind of people. Let’s not forget that people were judged by the company they kept. On many occasions, Jesus himself was castigated for being in the company of sinners. Society looked up to these people. They were very well educated, and were considered to be pious. The Pharisees were the interpreters of the Jewish Law. They were the Judge, Jury and executioner of the Law. They were considered to be the conscience of the society. In effect, this gave them tremendous power and wealth. Yes, the Pharisees were wealthy, very wealthy. When the Pharisee went into the Temple to do his thing. It was the social event of the century, figuratively speaking of course. It was filled with horns and bell. “Everybody make way for the Pharisee. Clear the Streets. The Pharisee is going into the Temple to pray.” In fact I am sure that the Pharisee went into the Temple at a time when the crowd was out. In the Temple, the Pharisee perhaps stood in a place where everybody Could see him, and hear him pray; A place of high visibility. I am quite sure he prayed out loud. He would be very well spoken, fluent and knowledgeable when he prayed .He probably would use eloquent terminology from years of schooling and practice. This was his raison d’être. Everyone probably stopped their prayers just to be in awe of this person; to give him the floor as it were. There was the story of an eloquent well learned scholar who during a poetry recital went up on the platform recited the 23rd Psalm. When he finished that psalm, every one applauded. Then this homeless chap dressed in rags, wearing the only clothes he owned, made his way to the same platform and recited the same 23rd psalm. When he finished it, everyone was in tears. Now this is what the Pharisee said... 11.The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. I do believe that this Pharisee did all this. According to his words, he was very devout. I do believe that he gave tithes of all he possessed, but was it a sacrifice? Our relationship with God can be divided in to five distinct categories, four of which can get us further away from God, but only one can bring us closer to God. The first one is Minimising; The second one is self-centred ; the third is blaming others ; the fourth is assuming the worse; and the fifth category is Accepting Responsibilities four our actions or sin. Now the Pharisee’s approach fell into some of these categories. Most importantly he did not accept responsibility for his actions. He was very self-centered. In verse twelve he pointed out to God that he was not like other men- extortionist, unjust, adulterers or even like the publican. Of course he was not like these people. He felt however that he had to point those qualities out and bring them to God’s attention. He some how felt superior to other people’ for he held himself to a higher standard than other people did. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Now when the publican came in, he probably made sure that no one saw him. His head was down in shame. He felt that the sins that he had committed made him unworthy of forgiveness. He felt that he did not belong in such a holy place. I am sure that he thought that holy people like the Pharisee should be in a Temple praying to God. The Publican was humbled by this experience. He came in to the temple in a lowly estate, making sure that no one saw him. But God saw him. God saw his heart. But the Pharisee saw him also. He smote his chest and said God be merciful to me a sinner. He fit into one of those categories I told you about earlier. In fact he took complete and total responsibility for his actions and sins. There was no mistake. He knew that he was a sinner, and by confessing those sins to God Almighty, he did the only thing that a wretched sinner should do. He bowed his head before God and took full responsibility for his sins. If we confess our sins before God, he is able and willing to forgive our trespasses. He humbled himself before God. Nothing else can save us from that wretched estate. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. The Publican said a short prayer, a sincere prayer, a prayer from the heart; a prayer that God heard; a prayer that set his heart free. When we worship God, we must worship him in Spirit and in Truth. We must humbly come to God as a sinner not as a righteous person, for there is none righteous, no not one. Our righteousness as filthy rags before the Lord. For we know that we are all sinners saved by Grace. Our God works cannot save us. The Pharisee was looking toward his God works to prepare a place for him in heaven. He made doubly sure of that, for he fasted twice a week and honestly gave tithes of all his possessions. This could not save him. Only the crucified Christ could save him. Only the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ could save him from the Slave market of sin. The Pharisee lived under the Law. The Law could not save him. Only the Blood of our Lord and savior Jesus could make atonement for sin. When we come before the Throne of Grace, we must come as a little child. We must come before God humbly. We must be meek and mild. We must humbly seek God’s face. That means that we do not point fingers at others, or mind what they say or do. We are there to seek this personal audience with God. God is an all-knowing God. God already knows about the other Guy. We are there to see God for our selves and not others. We must focus on ourselves. It appears that the Pharisee was telling God how good he was. He was puffed up, full of arrogance and pride. In effect he was telling God that he was good, that he was perfect, without sin and therefore he did not need forgiveness of sin. He thought that he was better than others. He did not humble his heart. He exalted himself. But the Publican was humble. Psalm 51 verses 1 to 4. Have mercy upon me, O God according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3.For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4.Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. This is the prayer of a man who was broken. Unless you have a broken spirit, you cannot truly come before the Lord. You must have a broken and contrite spirit. This was the prayer of King David, when after being confronted by Nathan after his affair with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband, Uriah, David a broken man fell on his knees and sought God’s forgiveness for these horrible sins. David had a broken, humble and contrite heart. He said, against thee and thee only have I sinned. He was a broken man. Verse15 to 17. 15. O Lord ,open thou my lips:and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16For thou desirest not sacrifice: else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God,thou will not despise. What God saw that day were two sinners, in need of a saviour, but only one went home justified. Psalm 34 vs 16 to 18 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17. The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of their troubles. 18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Are you in need of a savior today? Is the weight of your sin too much to bear? The Lord will gladly relieve you of that burden. All you need to do is humble yourself, confess your sins, open your heart, and invite the savior in. It is that simple. You must have a humble and contrite heart. The Pharisee thought that his personal sacrifice was all that God wanted. He was wrong. TO BE CONTINUED UPDATED DECEMBER 29TH,2009