Outside the camp is where — in reality — we meet Jesus face-to-face. The first mention of the phrase is in Exodus 29:14 But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering. This sin offering was an ‘atonement’; in essence a purification of the nation or individual, but after the offering was made, the remains had to be disposed away from the meeting place. In a sense, it was spiritually ‘putting the rubbish out’; keeping the house clean.

But here in Exodus, we read of Moses turning this idea on its head by taking ‘the tabernacle of meeting’ — the place of worship — out into the desert to meet with The Lord, where He appeared to Moses in the pillar of cloud (‘pillar’ representing ‘upright, righteous’, and ‘cloud’ showing ‘His presence’). Now the LORD appeared at the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood above the door of the tabernacle. [Deuteronomy 31:15]

The principle established here is be ye separate, as expressed by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. This is from the Amplified Bible …

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership have right living and right standing with God with iniquity and lawlessness? Or how can light have fellowship with darkness?
What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial [the devil]? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
What agreement [can there be between] a temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever) yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive you kindly and treat you with favour,
And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

But Paul does not tell here of the whole story. The Book of Hebrews tells us that we are to go forth to Him [Jesus], outside the camp, bearing His reproach, which is to say ‘carrying, or enduring sufferings with Him’. And we can bear it, because He already has and is with us. Our atonement for sin is only accomplished through His.

OUTSIDE THE CAMP — Colin Buchanan

IT IS QUITE true God does not answer some prayers because they are wrong, but that is so obvious that it does not need a revelation from God to understand it. God wants us to stop understanding in the way we have understood and get into the place He wants us to get into, that is, He wants us to know how to rely on Him.
(from ‘If Ye Shall Ask’)

The expression ‘may be one’ occurs five times in John 17, a number usually considered to show the grace of God, and ‘one’ — the number denoting Father God — appears seven times, as you might expect. So we can see that the arithmetic of Jesus’ prayer underlines what He speaks.

As mentioned beforehand, the prayer is in three parts, and leads us to understand the Holy Trinity working.

• When Jesus prays for Himself He is, in a sense, receiving ministry from Father God.
• When Jesus prays for His disciples, He is speaking of His own ministry to His followers, who will carry on His work.
• And when Jesus prays for all believers, He is acknowledging the work of The Holy Spirit, who will minister to the many generations to come after Him.

The link between these three aspects is encapsulated in verse 23; “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” This for me is perhaps the most beautiful and reassuring verse in The Bible, particularly when Jesus tells us that each believer has been chosen from “before the foundation of the world”.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” [John 15:16]

This verse from John 15, reiterates that when we ask of The Father in prayer, we should do so “in Jesus’ Name”, because we then ask as Him; in Jesus’ nature, Jesus having declared to us His Person and that of Father God.

Thus, it is vital, that when we meet, we are one together — without division — united in His Presence.

HIGHLY EXALTED — Robin Mark with the New Irish Choir and Orchestra.

THERE IS A subtle thing that goes by the name of unworthiness which is petulant pride with God. When we are shy with other people it is because we believe we are superior to the average person and we won't talk until they realize our importance. Prayerlessness with God is the same thing; we are shy with God not because we are unworthy, but because we think God has not given enough consideration to our case, we have some peculiar elements He must be pleased to consider.
[from “If You Will Ask”]

My Bible divides John 17 into three parts — Jesus prays for Himself; Jesus prays for His disciples, and Jesus prays for all believers. There is, of course, much more to it than that. The whole of John 17 is devoted to the connection of each one of us who believe to the idea that we can be one with Jesus; that with Him we can have everlasting life, but without Him we dwell among the eternally lost. It also expresses through Jesus’ prayer — and the chapter is His prayer — in essence a summation of His purpose.

That purpose is best summed up in the last few words of verse 11 — that they may be one as we are. So, just as The Father and The Son are one, so too are The Son and His disciples. And as we shall see, Jesus extends this ‘one-ness’ to all who believe through their [the disciples’] word (verses 20-21). Thus, Jesus pulls together so much of what is prophesied and laid down in the Old Testament. Here He reveals how His church was created and continues to be created in the hearts of men, and sets a seal on it with The Father, while they are connected in Spirit through prayer.

John 17 is the template for the creation of the Third Testament — the body of Christ. That body — with Christ the Head — is one. All who have and move in the mind of Christ are part of that one entity. We should see that Jesus is showing us by example, about our prayer-life, but also inferring our responsibilities one to another if we become believers and part of the body.

AS ONE — Hatton Primary School

Here are the words to their song, and while these words do not come straight from The Bible, they reveal as aspiration among young people to live in a right and spiritual way which is commendable

We've got to get on together, think of each other,
Look at ways to help us to get along.
If we can learn how to listen, where there's division,
we can live as one.

We've got to trust one another, stand with each other,
fix our eyes on all that's right not wrong.
If we can learn to be sorry, love everybody,
we can live as one

THE DEATH OF Jesus not only gives us remission from our sins, it enables us to assimilate the very nature of Jesus until in every detail of our lives we are like Him. How much more does the death of Jesus mean to us today than it ever has before? Are we beginning to be lost in wonder, love and praise at the marvellous loosening from sin, and are we so assimilating the nature of Jesus that we bear a strong family likeness to Him.
[from ‘The Philosophy of Sin’]

If any part of scripture has had a profound influence on my life, it must surely be John 17. It is a chapter I have turned to again and again — and I believe will continue so to do. The first verse shows us the fifth and final time in John’s Gospel that Jesus tells us that the hour has come.

1. 12:23 But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
2. 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
3. 16:21 A woman, when she is in labour, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
4. 16:32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
5. 17:1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,

On each occasion, Jesus links the hour that has come, to The Father and to His purpose. Furthermore, on the first and second occasions, the emphasis is on Jesus Himself — the third time, He is explaining this to the Disciples, that they (and we) may better understand what is happening — then on the fourth and fifth occasions the emphasis is on Father God. In these five verses Jesus gently leads us step-by-step in our approach to a deeper faith, a higher calling; into the heart of faith. Furthermore, each episode speaks clearly of new life — everlasting life in Jesus.

The hour is coming, yes, has now come. We are used to hearing that this walk of faith is a ‘now’ thing. No use dwelling on the past, whether glorious or otherwise. No point in speculating on what is to come. It will be what it will be, and we must trust in Him for our security, believe that He will honour His promises. The time is coming; this we know, and yet it has already come: that is the nature of God and His heavenly realms, for He is not governed by time as we are.

What we can infer from Jesus’ statement “Father, the hour has come” is that — if we are one with Jesus — we shall be among those in Jesus’ company so that He should give eternal life to as many as [The Father] have given Him. “The hour has come” is everlasting life, and it is not eternal life hereafter, but available in the here and now. Hallelujah!

THE HOUR HAS COME — Jeff Byers (and featuring Matt Newton)

This is the word that was mentioned in our gathering last week. Reproduced above is an expansion of some of the Bible verses that Carter Conlon mentions. Carter Conlon is the overall Pastor of Time Square church in New York. However, this word is not to be found on their You Tube channel, but on that of their affiliated channel for World Challenge. Either of these sources are well worth searching out should you be interested to seek for more like this…

RECLAIMING THE MIND OF CHRIST — Carter Conlon

IN DAYS GONE by we all used to love the creatures that exhibit reflections of the Eternal Good — honour and courage and strength, but when we are made one with Jesus Christ we find we love the creatures that exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
[from ‘If Thou Wilt Be Perfect’]

In a recent telephone conversation with our 6 year old eldest grand-daughter, Gill had a discussion regarding old clothes and what to do with them. Ella — for ‘twas she — had firm views on the subject and declared that old clothes must be given to the poor, because “their clothes are small.” That at least, was the gist of the story.

While this is a charming use of words in a novel way — just the sort of thing that all grandparents love to hear — it also showed a young girl with a caring heart. And the more that I thought about Ella’s expression, the more I felt that there was a truth in those words, depending on your understanding of the word ‘small’ — for amongst the meanings of the root of the word ‘poor’ is ‘rest content’; to ‘be acquiescent’; or in other words, to have little or no desire — or ability — to make for change or improvement in circumstances. Smallness of mind.

In a spiritual sense, the ‘poor man of your brethren’ is without the willingness to reach higher in faith and holiness. Our clothes — our garments — represent The Lord’s covering hand upon us, so if we rest content where we are — ‘what need have I for the deeper life in Christ?’ — then I limit my covering from Him and I wallow in my spiritual poverty.

Thus, in Deuteronomy 15:7-8 we are exhorted to do all that we can to help our brother out of his poverty and into the full rich life in Jesus, by praying and encouraging without condemnation. If the ‘poor man’ responds, he will find that his clothes — God’s covering — will grow at a greater rate than he needs, because when the Lord gives, He does so abundantly.

Today’s song is about peace, love and joy which is ours when we embrace the greatness of God.

PEACE LIKE A RIVER IN MY SOUL — Listener Kids

PEACE — Bethel Music