The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Express Version, 2024Sample

Every Crisis is an Opportunity

President John F. Kennedy once remarked that ‘when written in Chinese, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.’ Every crisis is, at the same time, an opportunity. Crises are often caused by unexpected difficulties. All of us have problems. Many of us will face crises. How do you respond to a time of trouble, danger or unexpected difficulties in your personal life? How do we respond to unexpected difficulties in the church or in our nation? What do we do when we are ‘*at \\[our\\] wits’ end’*? (Psalm 107:27). What do we do when the ‘*truth of the gospel*’ is at stake? (Galatians 2:5). How do we respond to ‘*a day of crisis*’ in our lives? (Isaiah 37:3, MSG).

Psalm 107:23-32

Cry out to the Lord in prayer

There may be times in your life when you face major storms. A ‘tempest’ seems to blow and the waves are ‘lifted high’ (v.25). Your courage melts away (v.26b) and you reach your wits’ end (vv.26–27). You hit an unexpected storm and cannot work out how to get out of it.

This psalm tells you how to respond. The people:

‘… called out to God in \[their\] desperate condition;
| he got \[them\] out in the nick of time' (v.28 MSG).

God is never late, never early. He is always on time!

‘He stilled the storm to a whisper;
| the waves of the sea were hushed
… he guided them to their desired haven’ (vv.29–30b).

When God answers your cry for help don’t forget to thank him:

‘So thank God for his marvellous love,
| for his miracle mercy to the children he loves’ (vv.31–32, MSG).

Lord, thank you for the many times you have heard me and rescued me. I cry out to you today for help in my own life and for the church in this nation.

Galatians 2:1-10

Use skill, diplomacy and courage

As we saw yesterday, sometimes we may be tempted to look down on other parts of the church, other denominations or other Christians and wish they were more like us! ‘If only they did things more like us they would be ‘proper’ Christians or ‘better’ Christians!’ In thinking like this we are, in effect, denying that faith in Jesus is enough.

This is what was happening to the churches in Galatia. They were being told that their faith in Jesus was not enough. If they wanted to be ‘real’ Christians, they needed to be circumcised.

The early church was facing an unexpected crisis and the apostle Paul had to use every ounce of his courage and determination, combined with skill and diplomacy, to avoid a damaging division and split in the church.

Paul wants to make clear that he acted under the guidance and activity of the Holy Spirit: ‘I went in response to a revelation’ (v.2). Paul was convinced of the validity of the gospel he preached, but was also concerned for unity: ‘I did this in private with the leaders… so that our concern would not become a controversial public issue’ (v.2, MSG).

He took with him two friends: Barnabas and Titus. Barnabas was a Jew and Titus was a Greek (an uncircumcised Gentile). For a first-century Jew there were two kinds of people in the world: Jewish and Greek (circumcised and uncircumcised). Circumcision was a sign that marked out a Jew, in accordance with God’s command (Genesis 17:9–14). It signified God’s covenant with his chosen people.

Yet, Paul chose Titus as one of his companions. ‘Significantly, Titus, non-Jewish though he was, was not required to be circumcised’ (Galatians 2:3, MSG). Paul’s point in this section is that the Jerusalem apostles (James, Peter and John) agreed that the good news of Jesus Christ was for everyone: Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised.

Paul was forced to defend the ‘freedom we have in Christ Jesus’ (v.4). True freedom is only found through faith in Christ. The necessity of circumcision for justification before God would ‘make us slaves’ (v.4).

If they had yielded to the demands for circumcision of Gentile converts, they would have denied the very essence of the gospel. The purpose of this letter was to explain ‘the truth of the gospel’ (v.5). Paul wanted to demonstrate that Jesus’ life, death and resurrection had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of Moses.

The meeting in Jerusalem was to resolve the circumcision question. The ruling reached was one of the most important ever made in the history of Christianity. The decision here prevented a ruinous division within the church. The crisis had become an opportunity.

Not only was the issue resolved, but also the gospel preached by Peter and Paul was firmly established as being one and the same (v.6). The leaders in Jerusalem recognised that Paul’s apostleship bore all the marks of God-given authority.

Peter and the others accepted Paul and agreed a division of responsibility – Paul for the non-Jews and Peter for the Jews. The same gospel would be brought to two different spheres by different people. They shook hands on it as a sign that the agreement would be honoured (vv.7–9). This was a monumental moment for the early church.

The parties had a sensible and detailed discussion about their differences. Paul refused to be overawed, although those he met were ‘reputed to be pillars’ (v.9). This was, after all, quite a group to take on! James had presumably already become leader of the Jerusalem church. Peter and John were both members of Jesus’ inner circle.

A pleasing agreement was reached. Paul seems to have acted with respect and courtesy despite being a determined man conscious of a special task. He would not allow opposition from without, nor discouragement from within, to stop him from doing what he was called to do.

The only condition that the Jerusalem leaders stipulated caused no problem for Paul: ‘to remember the poor’ (v.10). The church must always prioritise the poor and disadvantaged in society.

Lord, please give me the skill, diplomacy and courage that the apostle Paul had. Help us, like Paul, to embrace the entire church of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 36:1-37:38

Bring to the Lord the ‘impossible’ situation

Have you ever been taunted or mocked for your faith in God? ‘Do you really think that God is with you?’ they say. ‘Isn’t it just your imaginary friend?’; ‘Do you really think that trusting in God is going to do you any good?’ This is the way God’s people have been taunted throughout history.

The people of God faced an unexpected attack. This is such an important incident that it appears three times in the Bible (see 2 Kings 18; 2 Chronicles 32). Sennacherib, King of Assyria, was attacking Jerusalem with a huge army. His minions were taunting the people, ‘On what are you basing this confidence of yours?’ (Isaiah 36:4). On whom are you depending? (v.6b). They were being taunted and ridiculed for their faith in God.

It must have seemed to be an impossible situation – no one else had ever been delivered out of the ‘hand of the king of Assyria’ (v.18). But they did not answer the taunting. Sometimes the best response to criticism is keeping a dignified silence: ‘But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not answer him.”’ (v.21).

King Hezekiah responded to the crisis by tearing his clothes, putting on sackcloth and going into the temple of the Lord (37:1). He sent for the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah said, ‘Today is a day of trouble. We are in crisis’ (v.3, MSG). Hezekiah asked Isaiah to pray (v.4).

Isaiah responded by saying that God’s message was: ‘Don’t be upset by what you’ve heard... I personally will take care of him’ (vv.6–7, MSG).

When Hezekiah received a threatening letter, he went up to the house of the Lord, ‘spread it out before the Lord’ and prayed: ‘O Lord Almighty… you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God… Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God’ (vv.14–20).

Isaiah sent him a message, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me… I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!’ (vv.21,35)

God heard the prayer of Hezekiah and Isaiah and he rescued and delivered his people (vv.36–38).

Lord, the name of Jesus is no longer honoured in our society. Would you pour out a spirit of prayer and supplication on your people so that we may turn to you in prayer. Hear our prayer and deliver us in this time of crisis.

Pippa Adds

Galatians 2:10 says:

‘All they [Peter, James and John] asked [Paul to do] was... to remember the poor’. And as Paul said: ‘... the very thing I was eager to do.’

I am eager to remember the poor too, but occasionally I feel too overwhelmed to know what to do, or too preoccupied or just disillusioned because someone has ‘taken me for a ride’. But we must not be put off and, as the Bible says, keep remembering the poor.

References

John F. Kennedy in a speech to the Convocation of the United Negro College Fund on April 12, 1959 Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790. Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.