Author: Penuel Baptist Roch

September 4th 2022: Mike Viccary

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/2MXwJSXuij8

Jeremiah 17: 12-14

Jeremiah was a prophet who had the dubious privilege of prophesying when Israel was about to go into captivity. Here we have the chapter opening with a very clear state of the nation. In verses 5-8 a great contrast is shown between those who trust mankind and those who trust God. There are only two religions: trusting in man – humanism, man-made ideas, or trusting in God. The contrast between the two kinds of people is followed by a statement about man. Then we come to a glorious statement of the Lord and His rule, in verses 12-13, and what will happen to these two types of people. This is followed in verses 14-18 by Jeremiah’s prayer. The passage ends on keeping and breaking the Sabbath day. This is to remind us that the law still stands. Christ has kept the law for us.

In verses 12-14 we see:            The glory of God
                                                 Those who forsake the Lord
                                                 A plea for healing and salvation

  1. The Glory of God.

In chapter 9 we read, ‘Thus says the Lord:

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches.”’

This is a picture of the glory of the Lord. There are three points to note here in Jeremiah 17:12-14:

a). The glorious high throne from the beginning.

“A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.”
Jeremiah 17:12

This is a remarkable description. God rules not in Jerusalem, Moscow or Parliament, He rules from heaven. God’s rules has always been. From the beginning there has been this glorious high throne which is the place of our sanctuary (Revelation 4/5, a picture of the throne room in heaven). The Lord Himself is our sanctuary. At this time, Jerusalem was going to be over-run by Nebuchadnezzer and the temple was going to be destroyed. Jeremiah’s contemporary, Ezekiel, prophesied at the time when they had been over-run. Whilst Ezekiel is prophesying, the Lord says to him, “Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.” (Ezekiel 11:16). Remember, the Lord Jesus told the woman of Samaria that it was no longer in a location, Jerusalem or Samaria, that people would worship; it was in spirit and truth.

 The glorious high throne, where Christ has ascended – He who took our sins and paid for them in full – because we are in Him by faith, we are seated with Him in heaven. Remarkable! This book is written in Hebrew, and we miss the beauty of the Hebrew language; it is a very melodic, alliterative language. This is something to get excited about. A glorious high throne, from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. Where do you live? I live with Christ, in heaven. The sanctuary is the holy place. If you’re in Christ, you’ve dealt with the issue of sin.

This throne is spoken of, particularly in the Psalms: 11:4, 104:19, 47:8, 93:2, 97:2, 89. God is sovereign. Whilst we rejoice that we dwell with God, judgement will come (Psalm 9:7). Given that we are with Him, this is emphasised in Hebrews 12:22-24, we are in that throne room by the Spirit. We too have the authority that’s vested in God. We have power over the devil (James) but can’t do it on our own, we need Him every moment. You have the power over the sin in your life. Go to the Father and you will have power. Why? Christ has paid for our sin. We also have the power of preaching, teaching and sharing the gospel.

b). The law of the hope of Israel.

“O Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.”
Jeremiah 17:13a

The law of the hope of Israel (also in Jeremiah 14:8). The law is our hope. We are concerned with knowing Christ. ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good.’ He is our hope. It’s a sure hope (Hebrews 10:19). Peter describes it as a living hope which comes from new birth. This hope is knowing Christ in His fulness. One day I will see Him! Paul talks about the ‘hope of the call.’

We’re given this hope as a gift. What shall we do with it?
 
– Be ready to give a defence. How are you going to show or tell other people? I’d like to encourage all of you to come along to Bible Study.
– Having this hope leads us to further purification. ‘Be holy for I am holy.’
– Hope also comes with patience (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Because we know Christ, we know He is going to do all things just at the right time.

c). The fountain of living waters (see also Jeremiah 2).

“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The fountain of living waters.”
Jeremiah 17:13b

Astonishing! Every time we take our eyes off Christ, we stumble. The nation of Israel had gone far, far away from God. This fountain of living waters speaks of pure satisfaction. It is the Lord God Himself. The fountain continually supplies the water. Running water is living water, which is fresh. Christ, our Triune God, supplies life. He made us, we did not make ourselves. Living waters are the very source of life.

These are three remarkable pictures of our Lord.

  • Two things for those who forsake the Lord.

“O Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.

“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The fountain of living waters.”
Jeremiah 17:13

  1. They will be shamed. Sadly, Jeremiah had to report that they sinned with no shame (chapters 6/8). Sadly, that’s the day in which we live. Adam and Eve had shame when they sinned. We only declare sinfulness, for example, pride celebrations. Even though that is the case, there will come a day when it will be shamed. The truth will win. Eventually, they will fail. When the light of Christ will shine on the world, it will show the world’s ugliness.
  2. “Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth.” This is in contrast to those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. There is condemnation for those who forsake the Lord (Revelation 20:15). ‘Your name will be written in the earth’ means you’re earthbound. The Lord offers gospel calls for people. If they continually reject Him, the Lord will harden their hearts. They will be eternally condemned to destruction.
  • The start of Jeremiah’s prayer: a plea for healing and salvation.

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.”
Jeremiah 17:14


Here is the grace of God. What a confidence to say that. But remember the phrase at the end, “For you are my praise.” Is Christ / God the thing that you want most? It’s worth pausing and thinking about. People who put Christ first, ‘Behold His glory.’ (John). Paul writes, ‘God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:14). See also Colossians 2:3 and Song of Songs 5:10.


What is your praise? If you have the confidence to say Christ is everything, then you can say, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved.” To heal is to mend or to stitch together. We can pray for healing, but it’s not just the healing of the body, it’s also healing of the mind. Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. He says, ‘Heal me Lord and I shall be healed.’

The work of Christ on the cross was completed and finished. Nothing needs to be supplement that. He paid the price for sin. If you trust Him, all of your sins have been cast out. The Bible speaks of new birth and being regenerated. When you accept Christ, you will be born again. At that moment when you say yes, that’s the moment when you accept Him and receive Him, you will be born again in the Spirit. Then, you need your life to be set on this course.

Along with new life comes hope and patience (2 Peter 1). Eventually, one day you will see Him in heaven. Salvation has this three-fold aspect:

Christ saved us 2,000 years ago. Fully.

You were saved at that moment when you came to the point in your heart of accepting Him.

You will be saved when He comes again or you are taken into glory.

Hebrews 10:14 is a depiction of what happens in salvation, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” God has done it! You can say, ‘Save me and I will be saved.’ I encourage you to keep on and trust Him.

August 28th 2022: Phil Swann

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/0TPRk3724HA

Psalm 61

In the midst of all the challenges of life, where does your certainty rest? My certainty rests on all Jesus has done. The Christian’s confidence rests on Jesus Christ, on who He is and what He has done for us. The Christian hope rests on the objective claims of scripture concerning who Jesus Christ is, and what He has done.

This psalm begins in desperation,

“From the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Psalm 61:2

It’s very powerful language. David, the writer of this psalm, is reflecting on where he goes in times of difficulty and need. He faces overwhelming challenges. He is at the limit of his resources and ability to cope. Yet wonderfully, he knows where to go. Where do you go when you feel overwhelmed in life? Family, friends? Or maybe life gets so demanding you just want to get away from life and rely on escapism? Maybe you just turn in on yourself and cut yourself from other people, perhaps blames others and become bitter? With all the challenges, difficulties, and pain that you feel in life, may be your way of coping is simply to blame other people.

This psalm reminds us that that the Christian is not insulated or somehow protected from difficulties. David is a man whose heart is set on God. God uses him remarkably and unusually as a king. Yet, here he speaks about crying out to God as he feels his heart is growing faint. Some people believe that if something bad is going on in your life, you must be a bad person. That was the problem with Job’s friends. The Bible tells us Job was a righteous man. There was no-one like Job on the face of the planet. Yet God, in the mystery of His ways in dealing with Job, allows all the precious things in Job’s life, to be taken from him. His friends turn up to comfort him. The best thing they do is spend seven days sitting in the dust with him, not saying anything. But as soon as they opened their mouths, they add to his distress! One of his friends turns to Job and simply says, ‘Well, you must have sinned. Repent. Confess your sin, that you’re in such a mess because you must be a terrible sinner.’

Sadly, some people think that in life – that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Sometimes, as Christians, we can be caught up in that. We can find ourselves saying, ‘Why has God allowed this into my life?’ We can begin to believe, in the darkness of those moments, that He is punishing us because of the evil that we have done. The reality is, as Christians, none of us are insulated from tragedy and suffering.

Paul, writing his second letter to Timothy in the New Testament reminds us, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12). Everyone. If your heart is set on following Jesus Christ, you will know difficult times, trying times, times of great testing.

If you widen the lens, sometimes God actually allows suffering in our lives to move us on in the Christian life. James writes, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” (James 1:2). Difficulties can come from all quarters. There are times when God allows difficulties in our lives so He can make us mature, complete, and not lacking in anything, so He can make us strong in faith. This psalm reflects this in many ways, in how the Christian responds in times of great difficulty, when we feel our hearts are overwhelmed.

Clearly, David needs help. He places himself before God in a very important posture – he is moved to prayer. That’s the ultimate response as a believer. As David prays, he believes that God will hear his cry. He prays with great confidence. He is asking God for something in the midst of all his troubles. What is very clear is he is not asking God to make everything all right. We often pray to God, and we want God to respond in a very precise way. There are times when we have a terrible problem, and we want God to take it away. David prays for something deeper – the presence of God in the midst of his sufferings.

In this psalm there are a series of places where we are invited to find comfort.

“From the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I.”
Psalm 61:2

‘Lead me to the rock.’ This is an image of security, of finding God as our rock. This is similar to psalm 40. Imagine yourself in a situation where you are bogged down. There is need for solid ground. Security and stability is what we point to, the opposite of sinking sand. Here is a place where we know we can stand and be secure and safe. In life we can feel the rug being pulled from under our feet, feelings of uncertainty and struggling when all the things we felt were secure are suddenly taken away from us. It’s very natural to feel like this in times of difficulty, when we are disorientated, uncertain and struggling.

David, in this situation, is full of faith, believing that the God he calls is able to lead him to ‘the rock that is higher than I.’ It’s a reminder of the confidence that the Christian has, that we don’t face our difficulties and struggles on our own. There is a place, indeed there is one, who is higher than us. He is mighty to save. We have Jesus Christ, who has been raised from the dead. He has overcome the final enemy. Whatever struggle comes your way, Jesus is greater than that. There is confession of need here. God doesn’t expect us to face our difficulties under our own steam, under our own resources. Instead, in times like that, we are to call on Him.

1 Corinthians 10 reflects on stories of the Old Testament, of the children of Israel in the wilderness, wandering around, being kept alive by the grace of God. Paul, writing here, tells us that the rock that sustained the children of Israel is Christ. We build our lives on one who has broken the power of death.

As well as being a rock, He is a strong tower against the foe. This is a reminder, in life our difficulties can be the result of our enemies. In life we have our foes, our enemies, who seek to discourage us, to mock us. It is hard. Compared to the 100,000s in Pembrokeshire now, we are a small gathering of people. The accusation comes, ‘Look how small you are.’

In Ephesians 6 Paul calls these ‘’fiery darts of the evil one.” They are designed to spread chaos and confusion, to spread uncertainty amongst us. There are times of doubt and difficulty which can come over you as a Christian. But there is a refuge for us – a strong tower, a place that will not fall. David tells us Christ is our refuge. There is, in Jesus Christ, a strong tower, one who is impregnable to the assault of Satan.

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.” (Colossians 2:13) Jesus Christ is not just one who can comfort you in the face of your enemies, but He invites us to run to Him so He can be our refuge against the enemy. It’s a wonderful place of safety.

We have a rock, we have a strong tower, but then in the next verse David says,

“Let me dwell in your tent forever!
 Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!”
(Psalm 61:4).

The tent is very different to a strong tower. Strong towers are built for military defence and fortification. But the tent is a place designed for a place of care, comfort, kindness, family and friends. A tent in the Old Testament, in many ways is a loaded word. David writes ‘your tent’ – God‘s tent, the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God amongst His people during their wandering in the wilderness. It was a place of comfort, the place of reassurance, the place where the presence of God was known uniquely, the focus of all God’s promises to His people. So, to all His people wandering in the wilderness, it was always a visible reminder of God with them.

In the New Testament, the focus is off tent and tabernacle and onto the temple. What David wanted more than anything right then, in the midst of his distress, was to be with God. He wanted to know His presence, His reassurance, what it was to worship Him in the midst of great difficulty and great opposition. As a Christian, in the midst of crisis, you are invited to know God and worship Him, to know what it is to dwell in His presence.

David longs to dwell in His tent forever, to know warmth, love and security. No-where in scripture does God say He will take all the trouble away – until we are with Him in glory. But in the midst of all our troubles we may know His reassurance, we may dwell in His tent. We may feel His protection. He is with us and will never leave us or forsake us. Paul’s wonderful anthem at the end of Romans 8 says he is convinced that, from the long list he gives, nothing can threaten our sense of peace in this life. He ends up, having looked at life and death, angels and principalities, things future and things past, and anything else in all creation, convinced that none of these things can separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus.

These are the things we are to long for, to hunger and thirst for in times of difficulty. These are the things we are to pray for. We can always be guaranteed, as Christians, a welcome into His presence, to feel His reassurance and comfort.

When David’s heart is overwhelmed, he focuses on the images of the rock, the strong tower and the tent. His fourth and final image in this psalm is a wonderful, tender picture of a mother bird, “Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!” (Psalm 61:4b). Wonderful!
What a variety of imagery. Here is the desire to find refuge and safety. This is our basic need in times of distress.  Here it is presented in the most tender of ways. 

There are times in life when you and I need to run into that strong tower and know that there is an enormous strong door that can be shut tight, locked secure and we can bury ourselves in that strong tower and know that nothing can get us. But there are also times in life, as Christians, when we need to know the tenderness of His protection. He is both mighty and tender. Here we have the shelter of His wings. Jesus picks this up powerfully. Just before His crucifixion, as He looks out over Jerusalem He says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Luke 13:34).

In our distresses, as Christians, there are times when God provides the strong tower. There are times when He comes to us, as this illustration shows us, as a mother bird, so tender. The difference between the tension of the tower and the mother bird is that in the tower is the objective truths of scripture and security – the things that we know and believe about God in the face of the accusations of our enemies. But here, with the mother bird, it’s the warmth of His life, His person. There is something very intimate here. There are times in life when you’re distressed as a Christian, and Christ comes to you with such warmth and tenderness, ultimately pointing us to His unfailing love, which was made manifest upon the cross.

The comfort that we have in the face of difficulty is that we, as Christians, have a rock to go to that is higher than us. We have a strong tower to enter into, which cannot be penetrated. We have a tent where we are always welcome and wings that will shelter us. All of this rests on the finished work of Jesus Christ. Be encouraged this day. You are not alone. He has bought you by His blood. He has promised to get you home into glory. In the meantime, He is with you and He will not fail you.

August 14th 2022: Peter Gleave

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/nCEo3n03dyA

Joshua 3:14-4:24

What happens next? This question is asked in many different circumstances in life. You can be in the doctor’s surgery and you get the news you don’t want to hear and you ask, ‘What happens now?’ Or when you retire after doing something the same way every day for forty years, all of a sudden you ask, ‘What happens now?’ When a relationship breaks down, you think, ‘What happens now?’ It’s a question that we are confronted with at various points in our lives. We have to answer it. That is the question that you as a church in Penuel, in your 200th year, have been asking yourselves. As you’ve done two centuries, what happens now? What do we do next? Maybe you’ve got a plan. That’s great. If not, I want us to try and answer that question from what we’ve read this morning about these stones and the incident that happened in the life of Joshua and the nation of Israel.

Isn’t it amazing – in the case of the Israelites, who have been wandering around, led in the desert for forty years, they arrive in the springtime, at the worst possible time, to cross the River Jordan. They’ve had forty years together, arrive and it’s a terrible time; the snow on Mount Hermon is melting and the spring rains have come. The river that’s normally a nice little river going along, is at places now a mile wide. The floodplain is a mile wide. There’s no way to get across. There’s 2 million or more of these people waiting to cross into the Promised Land. I can hear them on the banks of the River Jordan asking, ‘What happens now?’

Isn’t God good! He has a plan. He said to Joshua, ‘I want you to tell the priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant and the moment the feet step into the water, the water will pile up.’ It did. The impossible happened. We are told in the Bible the water piled up sixteen miles up- stream from where they were, in a place called Adam, in the town of Zarethan. So, the water was cut off sixteen miles upstream and five miles down to the Sea of Arabah, down to the Dead Sea. There was now a twenty-one mile dry riverbed, from which all these people could cross into the Promised Land. They didn’t see that coming!

God has got a plan. Isn’t it comforting to you and me, on the threshold of a third century of service, or as you receive that news in the doctor’s surgery, or whatever time in life when that question comes your way, ‘What happens now?’ to know that God has always got a plan. And God is in control of that plan. You and I can follow that plan. It will be for our good as it leads us to our own promised land. As Christians, we are heading to the promised land; we’re going home one day.

In this story today there are stones. The people are building a memorial. If I said to you, ‘I’ll meet you for coffee on the 11th November,’ it would spring into your mind that that is Remembrance Day. Probably you would see a cenotaph with names of people on it, poppies, and there might be a memorial. This year, on 23rd October, it’s 200 years of your church. You know the date.

In this story, the whole nation crossed over. When God opened up the way, nobody was left behind. Everybody made it into the Promised Land. Everybody made it across the river that had, so far, been impossible to cross. God’s plan meant that everybody who was following Him was saved and made it home. Isn’t that an encouragement to you and I? Whatever we face in life, or as a church, that God has got a plan and that one day we are going home. We are going to be in the promised land.

The stones had to be picked up. God asked Joshua to get twelve blokes, one from each of the tribes, to pick up a stone, put it on their shoulder and take it to the place where they would stand that night, on the other side of the Jordan. I want us to notice that the whole nation of Israel was involved. Not everybody could have picked up a stone – two million would have been too many. However, God got everybody involved by them being represented. Everybody had a part to play. Everybody was doing their bit. Everybody was included. There was unity amongst the whole tribe.

The whole nation was moving together with one common purpose, heading into the Promised Land. It is important to remember that you and I need to do the same. You and I each have a job to do. We might be all different in our churches but each of us has got a job to do. God has called us to a work of service. He needs each of us to work together. He needs us to do it in unity. We have a common purpose; we all belong to Jesus and we are all heading home to the promised land. We must all be united as we do so.

There is a story about the tools in a carpenter’s workshop. They were having a meeting. Brother Hammer was presiding. Everybody wanted to have a say. Brother Hammer started off, then someone said, ‘You’ve got to go because you’re far too noisy, you just keep banging on. Get out of the chair.’ Brother Hammer replied by saying, ‘That’s OK. But Brother Screw, you should also go because you have to keep turning round and round and round to get him to do anything.’ Brother Screw became offended and said, ‘Actually, that’s not very fair. What about the Plane? All his work is on the surface. There’s nothing deep about him.’ Someone else said, ‘Well, what about the Ruler? He’s always messaging everybody thinking he’s always right.’ Then there’s Sandpaper, who is rough and keeps rubbing everybody up the wrong way. Just then, the carpenter from Nazareth came through the door, put on his apron, and started his day’s work. He picked up the hammer, the screwdriver, the screw and all those other tools in the workshop and made a pulpit from which the gospel could be preached. At the end of the day Brother Saw said, ‘Brothers, I think we’re all needed. We’ve all got our part to play. We’re all involved in the work.’

That’s true of the church, isn’t it. We’re all involved in it. We’ve all got a part to play. So, let’s make sure, as we start our next part of the journey here at Penuel, that we are united, that we have common purpose, that we are looking to the future, heading in the right direction. Everybody has a part to play.

Secondly, we need to notice where these stones came from. God said, ‘I want you to pick up the stones from near where the Ark was stood in the middle of the riverbed.’ So, they were to pick up the stones, carry them out and put them on the other side. There is some debate as to whether the stones are being built in the river, on the edge or were there two memorials (v9). It doesn’t matter. The fact is there were twelve stones being built into a memorial. These stones were symbols of what God had done. The stones themselves are of no value. They were symbolic of what God had done at that place, on that day, for His people. That is why they were important.

You and I have got similar symbols. We have the cross. We actually choose, as our faith, an instrument of Roman torture. But the reason we look to it is because of what Jesus did there, what God did through Jesus on the cross. Because on the day He opened up the promised land. Just as the River Jordan was opened up into the Promised Land, so our promised land, heaven and glory, is opened because of what Jesus did at the cross.

It says that the stones are still there to this day. Are they, as a lasting memorial? I don’t think they are. I don’t know where they are. Does it mean that God has failed? No. Because 3,500 years later we have just read about them. Somebody wrote it down in a book called Joshua, which is included in the Bible, which is the word of God, which stands forever. It’s the truth and from there we find out the truth. There it is. It’s a memorial to God for what He did on that occasion. God doesn’t open the Red Sea everyday or the River Jordan every day. He doesn’t do miraculous things like that every day. But He uses symbols to point back to those occasions, the things that should keep us going.

We have communion, a symbol which points us back to the cross. It reminds us of what Jesus has done for us. As we go into our next 100 years of service here, we have got to continue to meet around that table. It is so important because it points us to the cross, it keeps us in mind of Jesus and what he did for us, and it keeps you and I united. We can’t have that together unless we meet in the right way. We have to be right with each other. We have to keep on looking to the cross because it keeps us focused as we go forward for Jesus.

Thirdly, the order came to collect these stones. Did you notice how it happened? God told Joshua, Joshua told the twelve and it happened. We also read that that day Joshua, God’s appointed leader, was revered by all the people. If we go back to chapter one we find out that God had appointed Joshua. But it wasn’t until this day that he was revered amongst all the people, as Moses had been revered. I wonder why Joshua was being revered? Because he had done exactly what God had wanted him to do. In exactly the same way, Jesus did exactly what God wanted Him to do; He came to earth and died on the cross for you and me. This was the way that God had chosen to open up the way. We can see it through the chain of command, the order came from God in both cases.

There is a chain of command for you and I; at the top of it is always God. It’s not the Archbishop of Canterbury, the pastor or the deacons, although they have a part to play. We only have one leader and that’s Jesus. We look to Him and we’re to revere Him. Why? Because He’s doing exactly what God wants Him to do. In that process He saved our lives, and has given us an opportunity to follow and serve Him. Our responsibility is to follow Him.

What does it mean to follow Jesus? At the end of His ministry Jesus asked His disciples to tell everybody in the world about Him. Are you doing the job that you’ve been commanded to do? That’s a standing order from our commander in chief. There are a lot of problems in the world: floods, droughts, wars, fires that are affecting farmers who are now going to be out of pocket, problems with anxiety and depression in our society, food and heating, the cost of living. It’s tough. People haven’t got the answers. But friends, you have. Jesus is the answer to the problem.

Jesus can make a difference in people’s lives. He can bring forgiveness, hope, joy and peace – even in the middle of the crisis. It doesn’t mean necessarily that the crisis will go away, but Jesus will be with you and them in it. We have to tell them. Our mission, our standing order, is that we go on mission, and we tell the people.

I don’t know what your plan is for the next twelve months, but here’s a thought for you to pray about. At least once a month, why not get an outreach event for the next twelve months, that reaches the needs of this community. Invite them to something different every month, to tell them about Jesus. Pray about it.

The stones were collected by one person from each tribe. They went into the river. They had been obedient, and God had opened the way. The moment their feet touched that water, the water was no longer there. Isn’t that amazing! Some people love to try and explain away the miracles of God. Some say it may have been a landslip. It may well have been. There have been landslips in the River Jordan. There was one in 1267 which lasted for ten hours. The water stopped flowing. It happened again in 1906 and again in 1927. Is it coincidence then? Well, the water piled up in Adam, 16 miles upstream. I’m no mathematician but I know that if the water stops 16 miles away, it’s going to be a few hours before it’s actually dry at this bit. The moment they put their feet in it, it was dry. They all walked across, dry. The moment the priest got out, when they were all on the other side, safely in the Promised Land, the water flooded again. Doesn’t that prove that that was God’s timing. Nobody else could have done that. This is God’s power at work.

When the people went, the people hurried over. I don’t know whether it was because they would panic because they were fearful of when the water was coming back, or because they were just so excited, having been waiting to get to the Promised Land for so long. Whatever it was, notice that they hurried, it was quick. Nothing impeded them, not the water, weeds or anything. God had opened the way, and nothing impeded them on their journey to the Promised Land.

Iris Sankey, the famous guy who used to write loads of hymns, was on a Delaware steamboat on Christmas Eve 1875. On this occasion he was quite famous because he’d been caught on a photograph with Dwight Moody, the evangelist. People now knew who he was and who Dwight Moody was. The people on the boat spotted him and asked would he sing one of his songs. He replied that he wouldn’t sing one of his own songs but would sing ‘Saviour, like a shepherd lead us.’ One of the lines in the hymn he so beautifully sang was, ‘We are thine, who Thou befriend us, Be the guardian of our way.’ After he sang, a guy came out of the shadows and asked him, ‘Were you in the Union army?’ Sankey replied that he was, in the spring of 1860. The man responded by saying he was in the Confederate army. He asked Sankey if he remembered doing picket duty in the spring of 1862. Sankey remembered this clear night. The man replied that he too was on duty that night. He continued, ‘You were in the moonlight, I was in the shadows. I raised my musket, and you were in my sight. Just at the point I was about to pull the trigger you started to sing the song you’ve just sung. I thought to myself, ‘I may as well listen and watch before I shoot.’ As Sankey sang and the man listened to those words, it reminded the man of his mother, who used to sing that song to him as a child. He continued, ‘I remembered all that my mother taught me about God. At that point I lowered my musket. At the end of that song, I couldn’t shoot you.’ He explained, “I have reasoned that Lord, who is able to save men from certain death, must be great and mighty and powerful.”

Along the way friends, you and I will face certain problems, but God can bring us through those problems, He can open the way. The way has been opened by Jesus, ultimately to get us to our promised land. Whatever problems we encounter on the way, there is nothing that is going to divert us from getting there. Along the way things might happen. Your life might actually be spared to be used by God in the reaching of others, just as it was on that night, through that song. So, what happens now? You go forward, you keep following Jesus. You keep on being obedient to what He wants you to do.

The stones were dated. We know the date of your chapel anniversary. When you go to memorials, there are dates and the reason why there is a memorial. The date attached to these stones, when all this happened, was the 10th day of the first month. This would be the 10th day of the month of Nissan. I began to wonder why this was included in this portion of scripture. It was an important date because of what happened. But do you know what else happened on that day? 40 years, prior to that day, the Israelites were still captured in Egypt. God spoke to them saying, ‘I want you to get a lamb. I want you to make sure it’s ready for the 14th of the month, when you are going to celebrate Passover. So, effectively, the 10th of the first month of Nissan was the release from captivity of those people. It would have been the first thing they were being asked to do to prepare to leave. 40 years, to the very day, was the day they actually arrived in the Promised Land. Isn’t that amazing. It’s important that you and I remember these dates.

We can look back and see the day that Jesus saved us. We look back to the day that Jesus died on the cross because it’s important. We look back and we celebrate. Where best to celebrate than together as Christians in church on a Sunday? Some people are struggling to come back to church after Covid. I think some of us have become a bit consumerist in our views and think it’s ok to watch services on the tv. No! Don’t do that. You’ve got to be together. It’s what God wants. It’s important that you come together to worship and praise God. It is the single, most important event in your life every week – being in church on Sunday, together as the Lord’s people, as His family. Make sure that we continue to meet in this way. Go forward. Look forward. If you’ve got Bible Study on a Thursday, be there too. All of you, be there too because it matters. Because you can share your story, your encouragement, your experience, with the other people. That becomes a blessing to them. It also means that when people start to meet together, because something great has happened, other people outside get interested because they want to know what’s going on in your life that you’ve got, that they haven’t. It’s a double purpose. It’s’ benefit for the church that enables the Kingdom to grow.  Be in church, worship God together, celebrate those dates that are on the stones.

Finally, number six: the reason for the stones. It says in the last verse of the portion of scripture we read, ‘When your kids ask you what these stones are all about, tell them that this was the place where God opened up the River Jordan in order for you and I to make it to the Promised Land. Tell future generations, pass the message on to future generations.’

Can I commend you for the work you’re doing amongst the children and young people in this church. It’s brilliant! I want every single one of you to be involved in it. You may say, ‘Doing young people’s work isn’t my thing, I haven’t got time for that.’ You may not need to be here in person, but you could stop where you are and pray, pray for those who are doing it. You could get a list of the names of those kids that come, and you could pray for everyone of them. You can all play a part. If those children come, and they come to know Jesus, they will bring their own parents. I think others will come. Keep on with the work of the children and young people. It’s vital. You must keep going.

It’s not just about children and young people; we’re all involved. Verse 24 sums it up, “This has happened that all might know.” God wanted everybody to know, not just the Israelites. He wanted people who saw that pile of stones to know that the God of the Israelites was powerful, that He was the one who had done it. He wanted the whole world to know about it. This is where everyone looks down at the pews – you are called to be a missionary. You’re going to think, ‘I’m not going to want to go abroad.’ It’s not about being abroad, it’s about being a missionary here. It’s the command that Jesus gave. We can be missionaries where we work, where we live, where we serve our community as a church. We are missionaries for the wider world. Why? So that everybody knows how powerful God is.

This verse also tells us that the Israelites, and you and I, must fear the Lord. Is it something we’re going to be frightened of? No. It means that we regard Him as holy, full of majesty, awesome and powerful. We revere Him and acknowledge Him as such. We need to build the Kingdom of God, and for you and I to be reminded who it is that we worship and we serve. What are we called to do right now? We’ve got to build a memorial. We’ve got to be missionaries and we’ve got to build the memorial.

What happens now? You’ve all got to get involved. We’ve all got to be united. We have that common purpose – we’re all heading to the promised land. We’ve got to commune and work together. We’ve got to share that table and remind ourselves, by looking at the cross, that you and I need to be right with God and we need to be right with each other. We need to follow Jesus’ command.

We need to be out there, on mission in this community. We need to be obedient to the call of God. Whatever that individual call is on your life, whether it is here or elsewhere, it is doing what God is asking you to do. Mark the days. Mark the dates when God has done great things. Come together and worship Him – for the day He saved you, the day that He blessed this church. Come together. Share these things with each other and glorify Him through it. Be there on a Sunday. Be there on a Thursday. If you start a meeting on a Monday, Tuesday and Friday, be there as well. Be at all of them and encourage each other. Tell the kids. Keep on telling the kids. Keep on telling the families of Roch. Keep on telling everybody in this community. Be missionaries. Know His power at work and fear the Lord.

The moment, the door for the opportunity for you to serve God, is open. Don’t miss the opportunity. This is your time to carry the torch in this church that’s been going for 200 years. It won’t always be there for you. Take it while you can. Make sure you are working for the Lord today.

May be God will take you on a different path than you thought you were going to take. Go with it. Go on that journey knowing that one day you are going to arrive at home anyway. But along the way, let it be exciting. Let it be something that God uses you to do for His Kingdom, in order to build a memorial that’s going to bring Him glory. I pray that you will set off this next year full of courage and that God will bless you.

August 21st 2022: John Mann

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/CM2IbrcFVtw

1 Samuel 2:1-11: Hannah’s Song of Praise

Hannah has suffered the distress of childlessness and the scornful abuse of Elkanah’s other wife, who has children. But then Hannah is blessed with a son and Samuel is born. Hannah’s joy is unbounded, her joy is complete. These are some of the happiest days of Hannah’s life. As Samuel grew, Hannah’s love for Samuel grew. But, constantly in the back of her mind was her vow to God, “And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11).

Hannah was a godly woman. She was a loving mother. I’m sure during the early days, she must have had thought in her mind, ‘Does God really expect me to give my son to Him, for all the days of his life? Does God know what this means to me? Does He really understand how I feel about giving up my only son?’ God understood. He knew the pain of giving up a son because He had also made a vow, back in eternity, of giving up His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus.

Hannah was sending Samuel to a good place, a welcoming place, into the care of Eli the priest, the servant of God. God would send His Son into a fallen world of hatred and rejection, to be abused and mocked by the servants of Satan.

Samuel would know safety and security under the protection of God’s servant, a life of privilege and blessing. Jesus had no-where to lay down His head, no place to call His own, raised to a life of depravation, of hatred and pain.

Samuel would live to a ripe old age. Jesus would be cut down in His prime, nailed to a cruel Roman cross.

Samuel would become a great example of faithfulness, but Samuel was still a sinner. Jesus, in spite of everything He endured, the torment and the temptation, remained perfect in thought, word and deed.

Hannah must have thought, ‘Surely there must be another way.’ God knew all along that there was no other way to provide salvation for sinners. Jesus is the only way. Jesus is the only one ever to fulfil the law of God. His spotless life was the only sacrifice good enough. God knew what the cost of salvation would be to Himself and to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hannah’s love for Samuel enabled her to give him up. For her, it was the deepest act of love to dedicate Samuel to God for his life. The deepest act we can do for our loved ones is to commit them to God in our prayers, in our example, as we seek to live for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. The greatest thing we can do for our loved ones is to dedicate them to the Lord.

As Hannah packed her bags and headed off to Shiloh, taking Samuel with her, it was with a measure of sadness but also with joy in the knowledge that there could be no better thing for him than a lifetime of dedication to God. So, she was able to say, “So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he shall be given over to the Lord.’ (1 Samuel 1:28). Is that your desire for your loved ones, for your children?

Hannah prays this prayer of thanksgiving to God. There are 4 distinct parts.

  1. Hannah praises God for His sovereignty.

She is moved to begin with words of praise. Even as she’s parted from the son she loves, she knows it’s ultimately for his good. She finds strength in the Lord. Hannah is weak, frail and saddened but she finds strength in the Lord. She gladly acknowledges it was God who overcame her barrenness. God’s power is greater than circumstances. He is always loving and faithful with me, therefore, we can trust Him.

  • Hannah praise God for His character.

“There is none holy like the Lord:
    for there is none besides you;
    there is no rock like our God.”
1 Samuel 2:2

God has no rivals in His purity. God alone is perfect. He alone is the one who has done all things well. David also acknowledges this, “This God – his way is perfect.” (2 Samuel 22:31a). Look to the Lord alone, the One who sustains us. When we cry to Him, He always answers. He is the rock, the solid foundation on which we can build our lives. We can lean upon the grace of God, in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hannah also declares God’s glorious omniscience,

“Talk no more so very proudly,
    let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
    and by him actions are weighed.”
1 Samuel 2:3

Hannah knew God wasn’t ignorant of her situation or the cost of her sacrifice. Hannah’s faithfulness was rewarded by God. This barren woman was only not only rewarded with Samuel, but six other children. Seven children in all – the Bible’s number of fullness and perfection. We too have an omniscient Saviour, one who has felt all our heartaches, trails and difficulties, all our joys. Our Saviour has been through every battle we are likely to go through. Jesus is aware of everything we are going through. He promises not only to keep us but to reward our faith. Hannah was a barren woman. We live in barren times. Are you concerned for your own children in these wicked days?

  • Hannah praises God for His transforming power.

We see this in verses 4-8, where she presents three different example of God turning the tables. Our God is the God who transforms and turns things around. We see a turning around of strength,


“The bows of the mighty are broken,
    but the feeble bind on strength.”
1 Samuel 2:4

Very often, we can feel defeated by our circumstances. It seems to us that the powers of darkness are those with the bows in their hands, and the church are those who are stumbling. Hannah reminds us God is sovereign and supremely able to turn things round in a moment.

The things of this world do not satisfy. Real peace can only be found in the Lord Jesus. Jesus says, “Blest are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
    but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
    but she who has many children is forlorn.
1 Samuel 2:5

Hannah may be speaking about Elkanah’s other wife here. We don’t know anything more about her. But I also think that Hannah is not only praying and praising, she is prophesying as well. I believe she is speaking about the children of God, that they will always prosper. The Lord Jesus is still building His Church. Through His death and Resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ is still bringing many to glory. Do we really believe that God can overcome the indifference that we see around us? God can still bring blessing out of barrenness. Humanly speaking, it was impossible for Hannah to have a child, but with God, all things are possible.

Verses 6-7 confirm His great authority and sovereign choice,

“The Lord brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and He exalts.”
1 Samuel 2:6-7

The very next breath that you breathe will be because God gives it to you by His sovereign will.

Verses 8-10 outline His sovereign grace in salvation.

“He raise up the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes
and makes them inherit a throne of honour.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants.”
1 Samuel 2:8-9a

What greater assurance do we need, than the Lord will guard the feet of His saints. If you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, that is you.

There is a serious note as well, a sad note. For those who refuse His grace, things are much different. We read on and see,

“The wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness,
those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.”
1 Samuel 2:10

All protests, all criticism, all opposition will finally be silenced when they come face to face with the God of eternity. Hebrews 10 says, ”If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” (Hebrews 10:26-27). These are fearful word. But that is the reality for those who refuse the grace of God. I trust that there are none amongst us here who are turning away from the grace of God.

  • Hannah praises God for His ultimate purpose.

As well as praising, Hannah is also prophesying. “He will give strength to his King and exalt the horn of the anointed.” (1 Samuel 2:10b). Hannah is speaking about the king, but Israel has no king yet. She speaks about an anointed one, a Messiah, one chosen and sent by God to establish His kingdom. Hannah wouldn’t have known the full implications of what she is saying. How could she? A king for Israel was in the distant future. But by the Spirit, Hannah is proclaiming the coming of the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the One anointed and chosen by God to redeem His people from their sins.

Centuries after Hannah spoke her great prayer of praise and prophecy, her song is mirrored, confirmed by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, as he also rejoices in song at the imminent arrival of the Messiah. The one that Hannah prophesied has come. In Luke 1 we read, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and redeemed His people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his father David.” Zechariah has confirmed what Hannah prophesied. The Lord Jesus Christ came, and He came to redeem His people from their sins as He died on Calvary’s cross for the sins of those who will trust in Him.

Are you trusting God through the trials and difficulties, those things that you don’t understand, just as Hannah did? Is that your song? Do you have a song of praise and thankfulness? Do we have Hannah-like faith? Are we ready to trust God’s providence, even when we don’t fully understand it? Are we looking to Christ, the horn of our salvation?

Are you praising God for His sovereignty in your life? Are you praising God for His character, the one who is gracious, loving, faithful and forgiving heavenly Father? Are you praising God for His transforming power that has turned your life around and set you on the narrow path that leads to life? Are you praising God for His ultimate purpose in sending the Lord Jesus Christ that we might be saved and go to be with Him for all eternity?

Sunday afternoon August 7th 2022: 200th Anniversary Service: Jonathan Thomas

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/D01LcP8ZoGk

Song of Songs Chapter 2

If you’re a Christian, I want to ask you some questions. They may seem strange and you may not be sure of the answer. You might not even agree that my questions are appropriate. If you are a Christian today, you know you are saved, but do you know you are special? You know that God has chosen you, but do you know He cherishes you? You know that you are redeemed, but do you know that Jesus relishes time with you? You know that God loves you, but do you believe He likes you? I wonder what you think of those questions? I’ll be honest, I struggle with them. It’s as if the gospel is good but I struggle to believe it’s great.

This morning we looked at the barrier to spiritual intimacy of knowing Christ; we just can’t believe that God would love a sinner like me. It is something that we all struggle with. But then there’s a time that comes when we realise that that’s exactly the gospel – I’m not loveable but He loves me. He has made me lovely and now I can rejoice because everything I have is His and it all depends on Him. We see that the answer to how we view ourselves is this great exchange – that He takes my sin and gives me His righteousness. So now everything I have is Christ’s.

But then, as we come into the Christian faith, even though we understand that we are in Christ, and even though we cherish Him, it’s possible to hide from true intimacy with God. There’s a barrier. Let me show you what I mean. Songs of Songs 2, verse 1, she says, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” He replies, “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.” (Song of Songs 2:2) I feel for this young woman. What we have here is a continuation of the conversation in chapter 1. She is making a bold statement which we misunderstand today. We think she is quite confident! Actually, at this time and in this location, the rose and the lily were the commonest of flowers. They just sprung up everywhere. It’s like saying, ‘I am a daffodil.’ She is saying ‘I’m pretty – pretty common.’

I think the reason we struggle with the opening questions are because we feel, ‘I am loved because the church is loved.’ We struggle with individual language. We are happy with corporate language. We are happy to have the church be the bride of Christ, but we struggle to bring that to us. There is a danger here; we must remember that we are united to Christ, but by being united to Christ we are united with all other believers. You have to remember that you are part of the church. Galatians 2:20 says, “I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” One of the wisdoms of the Christian life is learning both – Christ loves the church and vice versa. It’s so important to try not to think of ourselves as a common Christian but a special saint – but no more special than any other saint. We are all equally priced because everything we have is based on Christ. What we tend to do is, because we all have the same, we lower it. I’ve got three boys so whenever I give them the same, they don’t want it. One of them wants to have more than the other. Having the same thing as everybody else makes it seem not special. We need to understand that all of us having the same Christ does not make it not special. It’s still special.

One of the implications of this thinking is that we can become Christians who don’t believe that God is interested in us. Think of Jesus as a doctor who gives us life-saving surgery. Sometimes, you see people doing an ultra-marathon because they had a car accident, and a surgeon saved their life and saved their leg. They then want to raise money. You also see it with the RNLI – someone was going to drown, and these men and women go out and save their lives. You see photos or television programmes of them being reunited and saying, ‘Thank you so much.’ Often, we can think of Jesus like that. He’s done an amazing thing but then it’s over.

The point of conversion is not the end of the story, it’s the start of the story. That’s the complication of the fairy tale ending. When we come to Christ, that’s not the ending. Fairy tales end with the wedding and then they all lived happily ever after. But I want to know what happened then. That’s the problem; we create a society where everybody thinks the happy ever after is the boring part that we’re not interested in. But actually, that’s the bit I’m fascinated by.

What does it mean to know Christ now that you are united with Him? Because of this view of ourselves being quite common, as she has in verse 1, we can end up not wanting to spend time with Jesus because we  think He doesn’t want to spend time with us. We’ve got this transaction of salvation and we leave it there. Because of this, she comes to the point where she actually hides from him. In verse 14 he says to her, “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” She is hiding from him.

I think, as Christians, sometimes we can hide from Jesus. You have a problem so big that deep down in your heart you’re thinking, ‘I’m in this problem because of me. I’ve created this.’ We don’t pray about it, we don’t go to Jesus about it.

I want to talk about the relationship between union and communion. So far this weekend, I have been teaching union with Christ. It’s the biggest doctrine in the New Testament and it is the most important. That’s why Paul keeps saying, ‘In Christ.’ You are united to Christ. Jesus has done everything and now we are in Jesus. We are united to Him. If you are united in Christ and in Him, you are as sure of heaven now as you will be when you get there. He has us and we are His.

But within our union with Christ, which is unchanging, unmovable and utterly secure -nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus – there is communion with Christ. Within the union there is experience of communion in Christ, of spiritual health and vitality. This covers a whole host of things: you can feel it, it can be peace in the midst of confusion, it can be balm to the soul in the midst of hurt and pain. We need to grasp that within the union we have with Christ, He wants us to have communion with Him.

The Lord Jesus invites us to abide in Him, to draw near to Him, to come to Him. What we tend to do as Christians, which causes us lots of heartache, is judge our union with Christ on our communion with Christ. For example, if I feel Christ, I must be secure in my faith. But it’s like being on a spiritual roller coaster all the time. You can be high on a Sunday morning, feeling the Lord loves you and you are going to heaven. Other times, on Saturday nights, you can be in the depths of despair, feeling Jesus doesn’t love you and you don’t know if you’re going to heaven or hell. When you base the judgement of your union with Christ on your communion and experiences of Him, it is up and down, up and down. Never do that.

Our communion with Christ and enjoyment of Him comes from our union: I can know Christ because I am united with Him. Because I am united with Him, even if I can’t feel Him, I am secure. Isn’t that wonderful! Even if I don’t feel the Lord Jesus, He still loves me. I am His. If we get our union with Christ right, we can go for this invitation of intimacy, of communion with Christ, knowing Him in our weakness and in our sorrows, in our joys and in our difficulties. We can ponder, spend time with the Lord, meditate on scripture, allowing our minds to wonder. We have this communion that we are invited to. This communion is based on how amazing Jesus is.

She sees herself as lowly, common, but he responds in verse 2 by saying she is “a lily among brambles.” He is saying, ‘My darling, among the young women, you are special to me.’ We need to see Jesus. If we see Jesus, we will know our union more and we will enjoy our communion more. This is something that open to all Christians. It looks different for so many Christians. Sometimes, Christians talk about it in two stages; there’s a time when they were a Christian but they weren’t enjoying God, and then something happened and they enjoyed God. For most Christians though, I think it’s just steps, experiences, different seasons of life and experiencing the Lord in those different seasons. And that looks different for everybody. The wonderful thing is the Lord meets us where we are.

There are three things we see about Jesus in this passage. Firstly, when she looks at the king, she sees him as her protector. Jesus is our protector (verses 3 & 6). She sits in his shade. He protects her. It’s a lovely picture of protection and embracing. It’s a picture that is repeated in scripture in lots of different ways, particularly with the church. One of my favourites is in Revelation 1. John, as a persecuted Christian, is given a vision of heaven. The curtains of heaven are rent so he can look in. Although he’s being persecuted, he can see a great throne, a higher throne. Everything is going to be OK. You get this amazing vision where the church is there, represented as lampstands and Jesus stands among them. Wonderful! All the churches in Pembrokeshire, Jesus stands among them. Then we see Jesus holds the churches in His hands. Is He standing there or holding the churches? Both! Then, whilst He is standing among the churches and holding them in His hands, John is falling down on the floor as if dead, so Jesus places His hands on John’s shoulders and says, ‘Don’t worry. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.’

The Lord Jesus is our protector and He is amongst us.  We remember the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, no one will snatch them out of My hands.’ Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you know Christ is your protector, and you are safe and secure in Him, in your union, you can enjoy communion.

In verse 6 we read, “His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.” Wonderful protection and embrace. Does that mean we will never get sick? No, you’ll get sick. Does it mean you’ll never get persecuted? In all probability you might get persecuted and have problems for being a Christian. You might get into difficult conversations. But it does mean that Jesus will never leave you and He will keep you forever. Even if we don’t trust Jesus in difficult times, He still has us. He is our protector.

Jesus is not just our protector, He is also our provider. “Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love. Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.” (Song of Songs 2:4-5). “My beloved is mine and I am his.” (Song of Songs 2:16a). He is the provider. Everything that is his is hers. He brought her to a banquet, to a public feast. He is giving her food and recognition. Food is a time of celebration. Here he is celebrating her, providing for her. We pray for the Lord to provide, but we also remember the Lord Jesus is the bread of life. He provides Himself. We should want Him.

When it comes to this kind of union, we must make sure we do not get it wrong. When we think of relationships, we can think of a symmetrical, equal, mutual relationship. That is not the case. We haven’t all brought something equal to this relationship. Jesus has brought His righteousness, His love, His eternity, His beauty, His holiness, His sovereignty. What have I brought? My sin and my need. We don’t come symmetrically, but in our union we are one and all that is His is mine. It’s phenomenal, isn’t it?

Thirdly, we see that Jesus is our pursuer. In verses 8-15 we see the king comes leaping across the mountains and hills. He’s really excited. But then in verse 14 he says, ‘My dove is in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside.’ It seems to me she is hiding. She really wants the Lord but there’s something stopping that. She’s building a wall, this cleft of rock around her. She knows he bounds towards her, she knows that he loves, but yet she’s in the cleft of the rock.

This is the great struggle of the Christian life; I know the Lord loves me, I know the Lord will forgive me, I know the Lord is gracious, yet will I confess that sin? No. Why? Because deep down, I’m not sure He will forgive me. I know the Lord is calling me to do something, to step out in faith, to trust Him, to follow Him, to give my all to Him in that certain area of my life, but will I do it? No. Why? Because I’m not really sure He is the provider.

Here, she remembers what the Lord is like, and she see that he is a pursuer. She has built this wall, but he comes. See how he comes to her – this is really important. We hide from the Lord and when we don’t believe we can come to Him, listen to how He comes, “My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.” (Song of Songs 2:14). Do you believe that your voice to the Lord Jesus is sweet and that your face is lovely?

When we build walls between us and God, He doesn’t come and bulldoze them down. He doesn’t come and say, ‘How dare you build a wall, don’t be so silly.’ He comes and wants her to being the walls down, he wants her to see him. Hosea is so similar because there’s this marriage picture being used when Israel has gone away from the Lord completely. Yet the Lord says these wonderful words, “I will allure her.” (Hosea 2:14). He is the one who comes and says, ‘Speak to me. I want to hear your voice. Come before me. I want to see your face.’

In verse 11 we see what she remembers about him, “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the seasons of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” What we call experience in our communion with Christ of going away, backsliding, a wilderness period, which there can be so many reasons for, in Revelation it is talked of as ‘being cold.’ A winter has come in our relationship with the Lord. The wonderful thing is, if we call to Him, the winter is over. The flowers come out. The wall can be brought down. We can stand face to face. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me.”

Friends, is the Lord calling you to open the door? Is the Lord calling you to speak to Him again? Have you grown cold? Have you built a wall and you’re willing to go this far but no more? The Lord says, ‘Come to me. All that is mine is yours and you are mine. I love you. I want you to enjoy me and to know me.’ The Lord will meet you in the way that you need Him.

Sunday Morning 7th Augut 2022: Jonathan Thomas 200th Anniversary Service.

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/xBaB0uI-L04

Song of Songs 1: 5-17

I believe in fairy tales. At least, I genuinely believe in fairy tale endings. Before you think I have completely lost the plot, let me explain what I mean. I believe that all fairy tales we were told as children have something in them that, deep down, is incredibly true. All fairy tales have a similar plot, a similar ending. Why has everyone written these stories? Why do we love the stories? Why do generation after generation of children, myself included, enjoy stories about the ugly sisters or the prince coming to save the day or the ultimate wedding feast with all the dancing? It’s because these fairy tales are aches to a long, lost echo; deep down, we all want to be loved. That’s what all fairy tales are about. Deep down, we all want to be loved by the king.

We don’t just want love, we want love with someone who can sort everything out. We all long for it in different ways. Some people long for it in romantic relationships. When I was growing up, I had a friend who had a file book and she had already chosen her wedding dress, she knew what the wedding was going to be, she had it all in a file. For other people it could be football. You fill your walls with posters of football players in the hope that you will be spotted, in the hope that one day you’ll be given that chance. Some hope in rugby, that one day people will realise that you are the answer to the needs of the Welsh rugby team, that one day you will get that call, ‘Let’s go, I want you to play.’ Wouldn’t that be amazing. It could be wanting success, a promotion. Some people look for success in sacrificing for others, in philanthropy, doing good. Sometimes, we want people to need us. We need people to need us, and we want people to see us. Deep down, it’s not that any of these things are wrong, but there is an ache for something. Because we have this ache, it drives us.

So often we look for happiness, success and significance in all the wrong places. Oscar Wilde famously said, “There are two tragedies in life: not getting what you want and getting it.” There is an ache within us. There is an ache that, so often, can be fulfilled in life for a season, when life is good. I live in an area in Abergavenny that is very affluent. When we think of evangelism outreach to people who have got money, family, a nice house and a nice life, people who are very happy, it is hard. When I say to people, ‘If you’re not very happy, come to Jesus.’ Their response is, ‘No. I’m happy. I’m happier than you.’ But when we realise that these things may fulfil for a while, there is something more.

In the Song of Songs there is a love that is fairy tale. It is so amazing that it will seem like fiction. But this isn’t a fairy tale. It is the ultimate thing that God has put in our hearts. God has placed eternity in our heart. He has put a longing in our heart for something that seems so crazy we put it in the category of fairy tale. But it’s even greater than a fairy tale and it is true.

The first thing we see in verse 5 is undeniable fear of ugliness. I wonder, does anyone here fear that you’re ugly? I don’t just mean physically. Does any one here fear if someone actually got to know you, they wouldn’t like what they see? In verses 5-7 the woman is speaking. We know that she loves the king and wants to marry the king. We know that he has come to her and she can come to him and speak to him because he has initiated this. All the friends are rejoicing, ‘Wow! What a great relationship.’

Everyone is excited and celebrating. Then, something happens in our hearts – this undeniable fear of ugliness. She says, “Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar.” (Song of Songs 1:5). Here is a barrier to intimacy. She has a moment where her self-image and self-worth is rock bottom. How you view yourself affects everything.

The woman starts talking about the complexion of her skin. She keeps going on about the colour of her skin, that it is dark. She says, ‘Don’t stare at me because I’m dark, because I am darkened by the sun.’ The darkness is, in effect, a suntan. The question is why? Because she’s been to Newgale Beach on holiday and had a wonderful time, got a lovely tan and shared it on Instagram? No! She says, “My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards.” (Song of Songs 1:6b).

Here is Cinderella. She has brothers who have told her to work in the vineyards. Here is someone who has been forced to do labour that she shouldn’t do. She has been forced into a situation where she has been forced to do something that she shouldn’t. She says, ‘If I’m looking after your physical vineyard, “my own vineyard I had to neglect.” (Song of Songs 1:6c) because her brothers have forced her into this situation because they are angry with her.

She is having this moment of doubt because of what has been happening in her family. It’s amazing how much of our childhood and family affects our relationships. In verse 6 she thinks everyone is staring at her. She doesn’t want people to stare at her because she is dark. How often do we think that people are looking at us? She is out there because her brothers have put her out there. She is struggling.

“Tell me, you whom I love, where you rest your sheep at midday.” (Song of Song 1:7a). She has literally been calling to him in verses 2-4, and now she feels that she has lost him. She doesn’t know where he is. Her upbringing, her experiences, her hurt, have all become a barrier to experiencing his love. If you are involved in any kind of psychology, counselling or social services, you’ll know about ACEs – Adverse Childhood Experiences – all the childhood experiences which affect them in later life. If you go into fostering or adoption, you’ll learn all about attachment disorder and how the experiences of childhood can make you struggle to attach to others. How many of us will sometimes remember things from our childhood come back to haunt us? The wonderful thing is all those things can be changed. Lives can be changed with a loving environment.

What we are seeing in this book is a life being transformed by the love of the king. But the first thing we have to see is there is an undeniable fear of ugliness. Do you have a fear of ugliness? How do you view yourself? I think deep down we all fear that we are so ugly that God can’t love us. Sometimes, when bad things happen, we say, ‘What have I done to deserve this?’ because, deep down, we think we do deserve it.

The woman has this fear, so she doesn’t know where the king has gone. She says, “Why should I be like a veiled woman?” A veiled woman in that culture is a prostitute. She has really gone down to the depths. Her friends listen to her and say, “If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.” (Song of Songs 1:8). Don’t we need friends like that, friends who come along side and say, ‘Hold on. He hasn’t gone, you haven’t lost him. This is the way to go.’ Very often in life we need people to come along and say these things. In a sense, I feel that is my burden for this weekend, to come in God’s word and say, ‘Here is the way to Jesus. Here is the way to know love. Here is the way to find eternal life.’ It is wonderful when people come alongside.

She’s been having a complete meltdown. Her friends point her in the right way and in verse 9 he speaks. I love this. He says, “I liken you, my darling, to a mare.” Today, that doesn’t sound like a lovely thing. But in this poetry, he is speaking to her in response to what she has said. It shows us he has heard her. When I read the Bible, I see when God’s people cry out to Him and think He’s nowhere, He’s always there. When God’s people were in Egypt in slavery, they thought God had forgotten them and had left them. Things went from bad to worse. They knew they were there by their own deliberate fault, trusting in other gods rather than Yahweh. What did they do? They cried out and God heard them and came to them. Remember how Elijah had a massive victory and then straight afterwards had post-mission blues? He lost all his trust in the Lord. He’s completely destitute and God comes to him, feeds him, listens to him, talks to him, and tells him to rest. When we cry out to the Lord, even when we share that undeniable fear of ugliness, the Lord hears us, then He speaks to us.

Firstly, we had the undeniable fear of ugliness. Secondly, we have the unbelievable fact of undeserved love.

“I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharoah’s chariot horses. Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels” and so on. In those days, a horse was a thing of beauty and was the animal of power. He is telling her she is a powerful, beautiful woman, adorned in natural beauty. She isn’t beautiful because of the jewels; they enhance her beauty. They often say, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ The king is clearly besotted with her. He is in love. He sees beauty. He is looking beyond what Julian Hardyman calls, ‘socially determined stereotypes.’ Within God’s creation beauty is not socially constructed. There’s a pressure today for us to conform to what the world says is beautiful.

The king tells her how beautiful she is, and she responds by getting incredibly excited. What does this mean for us today? Is it, we have an undeniable fear of ugliness and God says, ‘You’re actually amazing.’ Is that the gospel? No. There is something different going on. Deep down, we all know that that isn’t sufficient. C.S. Lewis says, “He loves us not because we are loveable but because He is love.” Whatever God’s love is for us, it is based on His love, not on us. We know we are not perfect; we know that we sin. We know that there are problems. We know about Genesis and the Fall, we know about Romans 1-3. We are able to say with Paul that we are the chief of sinners.

Why does the king say she is beautiful? Because in His eyes she is. Luther, the great Reformer says, “God does not love us because of our worth. We are worth because God loves us.” Your worth is in the price purchased. God paid for us with His only Son. For the believer, it is not just what Jesus was willing to pay for you, but it’s now that you are His. That is the love than transforms us, that makes us beautiful. This is a truth that, as Christians, we need to grasp.

We believe we are sinners. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We believe that Jesus came and lived for us the perfect life that we could never live. He always did what the Father wanted Him to do. He always followed the Commandments. He did this on our behalf. We believe that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins. It is a wonderful exchange. Jesus takes my sins. ‘He who knew no sin becomes sin.’ If you think of it like a debt, we are in debt to God, Jesus has come, He has lived the perfect life and has died on the cross and paid our debt. That’s amazing! But we often stop there, but the gospel is so much more. When Jesus lived and died for us, then rose again on the third day, went to heaven and is now preparing a place for us, He didn’t just pay off our debt, but He filled our account to the max. He did not just take us from being an enemy to a non-enemy, He took us from being an enemy to a son, to a friend, to the beloved. So, He just didn’t die for us, He lived for us. This divine exchange isn’t just Christ taking our sin, but it is Christ giving us His righteousness. There is a complete exchange. It’s wonderful!

On the cross, when the Father looked at Jesus, if you have trusted in Christ, He saw you. It was your sin that held Him there. Here is the wonderful thing – if you have trusted in Christ, your sins were nailed to that cross in Christ. Now, when the Father looks at you, you can call Him Father because now He sees Christ. ‘I am clothed in robes of righteousness.’ It’s not just that the old self has gone, but there is a new creation. It is not just that your sin has been taken away, you have had righteousness imputed to you. That is why we can always know that God loves us and delights in us. I love the ways we go from being slaves to sons, from being lost to being loved. Jesus has done it all.

Some of us have got a limited view of Jesus. Deep down, this undeniable fear of ugliness keeps coming out. I often think of Jesus as a barrister. Barristers are wonderful people. If you get a good barrister, he can get you off pretty much anything. When a barrister stands in a court he speaks on your behalf. They do everything for you. I think there are barristers who have defended people they don’t like. Do we sometimes view Jesus like that? Legally He has died for me and I’m so thankful. But we leave it there. The gospel is far, far greater. He wants to draw us near. He wants to love us and embrace us. He wants us now to be with Him.

I think we’re all slightly living ‘My Fair Lady.’ We feel like we’ve come to the Kingdom, we’ve come to the church, and we’ve been taught to speak and sound like someone who is ‘in’ – but we’re all waiting for that Cockney accent moment to happen, when people don’t think we deserve to be here. But Jesus has done it all. I believe that when we read the Song of Songs there is poetry here that is showing us how God delights in us. It is undeserved.

Friends, do you suffer from imposter syndrome? There is no place for imposter syndrome in the Christian life. There are no imposters in the Kingdom. If you have trusted in Christ, all that is His is yours and the Father loves you. He sings over you. He says, ‘Come under my wing.’ He says, ‘Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.’ It’s a wonderful, wonderful truth.

I love the way that God’s love makes us lovely. We have this amazing love. The king talks about it in how He sees her. She responds with excitement (v12-14). Then you get this lovely mutual exchange, “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.” Can you get to a point where you believe that is true of you and Christ? If all your worth is based in Christ, then to the Lord you are beautiful.

How does she respond? “How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming!” When we see who we are in Christ, that makes us worship Him all the more. It is a wonderful thing.

Saturday 6th August 2022: Jonathan Thomas 200th Anniversary Service

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To listen to this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/rzdy5GNhX1E

Song of Songs 1:1-4

I remember coming to Pembrokeshire as a boy with my father, who loved to walk sections of the coastal path. I remember being excited, wondering what treasure I would find, having heard stories of smugglers and pirates around the coves of the Pembrokeshire coast. Can you imagine if, one day, you were going out and you saw a glimpse of a treasure chest in a cove? You realised you couldn’t get into it. You needed a key.

Within life there are a lot of treasures, things that we would love to have, but we’re never sure of the key, how to get into it. How do we make relationships work? What is the key? How do we find the meaning of life? What is the key? How do I know I am loved? What’s the key? How can I be truly happy? What is the key? Often, we can see that there’s a treasure of delights, but we don’t have the key. A ‘treasure of delights’ is actually how one rabbi in the 9th century described the Song of Songs.

This weekend we are going to spend our time in the opening chapters of the Song of Songs and try to find a key to unlock it, to a treasure of delights that is available to all of us. When was the last time you sat through a sermon on the Song of Songs? If you have, when was the last time you sat through a series of sermons on the Song of Songs? It’s one of those books that is neglected in the Bible. At points, it’s rather embarrassing. It’s also one of the most debated books in the Bible. Maybe you’re here and you’ve never read it, or maybe you started to read it and stopped. My hope is that by Monday morning, you’ll want to read the Song of Songs, and you’ll have a key to understand it.

I believe that within this book there’s teaching that can revolutionise our relationships with each other, but more so with God.

Firstly, this is a song. That’s the genre, the style of writing. It is a poem set to music. If you like music, it creates emotion. You feel music. Sometimes, even before the words start, or even if there are no words, you feel something. When a classical piece comes on, you may feel longing. When a country piece comes on you may feel a broken heart. When the blues start, you might get to feel depressed. Music creates emotions.

This is a song, which means it conveys feelings. It’s a poem set to music. Poetry can work on multiple meanings and levels. Something that’s quite simple, can be making deeper points. When it comes to poetry, you must always remember that what we are looking for is the author’s intent and meaning. When they wrote, what did they intend us to feel? What do they want us to understand? If you read the Song of Songs, on first read it comes about like a song about romance, about relationships. In many senses, it’s about marriage and its consummation. That’s why the book can be a little bit embarrassing.

The second thing to know about Song of Songs is that it is not smutty. It is an ethical book all about a poem about Solomon and the Shulamite. They are about to get married. They want two to become one (v4). She wants to go into the chamber, the King’s chamber. It is talking about marriage. This is not just poetry. The style of writing comes within wisdom. This is about more than just romance. This is a song of Solomon. It comes within Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms and Job.

If you know your Bible, you’re already saying, ‘You said this book was about one man and one woman. Now you’ve said it’s Solomon. How many wives did he have? One, two, five, twenty, two hundred, 400?’ It was 700. Not just 700 wives but also 300 concubines. What’s going on? That doesn’t seem very ethical. Solomon was the Hugh Hefner of his day. But interestingly, when he writes this book it’s all about one man and one woman. The man who had experienced everything, tried everything, ultimately, when he wrote the manual on relationships, writes it about one man and one woman. What’s going on?

I think that when Solomon was writing this, he was an old man who had learnt a thing or two. He has now realised that God’s design is monogamy – one man and one woman. Everybody in the Bible, outside of Jesus, is flawed. Everybody in the Bible, outside of Jesus, makes mistakes. Solomon has realised that. If you read Ecclesiastes, you know Solomon had experienced everything. He was like a rock star, a YouTuber, an Instagram influencer. But in the end, he comes down to the Song of Songs.

Whilst Song of Songs is not shy about relationships, this weekend I am not going to give you any relationship advice. I think you can read the book on two levels: you can read it spiritually about Christ and you can read it about relationships. I think there’s lots to learn there, but in the weighting, there’s more towards Christ. What we need to realise here is the answer to life is not human relationships but something far greater. Solomon hasn’t come to the point where he has realised monogamy is the ultimate key to life, He has come to realise that monogamy is the right way for relationships.

I was at a wedding earlier today and I gave a talk. I was at pains to say to the couple, ‘You are not the answer to your marriage. Your marriage is not the answer.’ You see, what happens when people get together and they think the relationship is the answer, that the other person is the answer, this is what happens: we put the person up on a pedestal and say, ‘You will save me, you will be everything I need, you will always be there for me.’ What happens when we put someone up on a pedestal? We quickly pull them off. That is so cruel to the person; they can’t be everything. No-one can be everything.

We have to make sure, as we come to the Song of Songs, that we don’t say human relationships are the answer. Otherwise, what about single people? What about widows? What about people caring for a partner, but due to ill health can’t love them or help them in return? What about Jesus? He was never married, yet He was the perfect man. So, there is something more going on in this Song. It is a song, it is not smutty, it is a song of Solomon.

Here is the last thing to note: it is the Song of Songs. It reminds me of ‘the Holy of Holies.’ This is Solomon’s greatest song and I believe it is the Bible’s greatest song. The greatest song in the Bible cannot be about human relationships because that would make human relationships an idol. It is about far more than that. I believe this is ultimately about Jesus. For the first 1600 years of church history, that is pretty much how everybody taught it. Everybody was happy to read this and see Jesus. Even though, if you read some of the old books, it does get rather fanciful and does go a bit too far. But you can read this book looking at Jesus, square on. Some of you might still be not sure. Let me give you a reason why you can. Firstly, allegory, seeing these things out of representation, happens throughout the Bible. The New Testament does it to the Old Testament. In Galatians chapter 4, we read these things are taken figuratively – the woman represents two covenants; one covenant from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be saved, this is Hagar. Hagar stands for Mount Sinai and the Arabia corresponds to the presence of Jerusalem.  Basically, the New Testament author is looking at the Old Testament saying, ‘There’s a history but actually there’s something symbolic happening there.

The main character in the Song of Songs isn’t a random but he is the King of Israel, a son of David, in the line of the Messiah – Jesus. The New Testament picks up on marriage and says, ‘When you see marriage, it is a picture of something greater.’

So, the New Testament teaches that when you see a marriage, you are meant to think of something else. This comes out in a number of different places. One place is Ephesians chapter 5. Here, Paul is teaching about marriage, where husbands and wives should submit and sacrifice for one another and should love one another. When he is going through that he then says, ‘Just as Christ does for the Church, for we are members of His body.’ Then he quotes Genesis saying, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” He goes further and says, “This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.”

So, the New Testament teaches us when you think of marriage, remember to think of a better, greater, ultimate marriage. It’s always important not to get that confused. Sometimes we get this the wrong way round. We say, ‘I want to know what the relationship between the church and God is like, so I look at human marriage.’ That’s not the best way to do it because sometimes marriages are weak and there are problems. Rather, Ephesians switches this on its head and says, ‘If you want to know what marriage is like, look at the relationship between Christ and the Church.’ When you get the way Christ loves the Church, you will understand how you should love one another.

What is the big story of the Bible? Have you ever thought that in the opening chapters of Genesis we have a marriage. Imagine Adam seeing Eve and just singing, overwhelmed by the beauty. There they are, two as one. They are married together. How does the Bible end? The big climax of Revelation is a wedding in heaven. The big theme of the Bible is marriage, the ultimate wedding. So, when we read Song of Songs we can look at it as a way of understanding our relationship with God.

What can we learn from Song of Songs, chapter 1:2-4? These are lovely verses. I have to be honest, when I was sixteen, I laughed at these verses. It was the joke in our youth group. If we wanted to embarrass our youth leader, we used to say, ‘My favourite text is, “Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth.”’ But I’ve learnt over the years, to love this. Even if it does feel awkward and embarrassing, if you pause to read it and read the next line each time, you start to realise, ‘This isn’t talking about what I think it’s talking about. It is about something far more profound.’ Here we have intimacy and invitation, love and longing.

Intimacy and invitation.

The woman is talking. She is passionate. In verse 2 she is inviting him to intimacy; she wants to be kissed. Solomon wants to make sure we don’t misunderstand here, so he repeats himself. She says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” She said it twice, there’s no ambiguity here. He doesn’t have to wonder, ‘Shall I make a move or not?’ She is very clear, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” She says, “of his mouth.” This is not kissing on the cheek, this is intimate. But it is more than that. Look at verse 4. She wants to go away with him, “Take me away with you – let us hurry!” She wants them to go away together. This is an invitation to intimacy. That is what we see first.

Love and longing.

Whilst I joke about the kissing, it’s not really about the kissing. Look closely. Why does she want to be kissed? Why does she want to be close to him? You see in verse 2 the linking word, ‘for.’ “For your love is more delightful than wine.” She is not really interested in the kiss, she is interested in the love. It is not the kissing that is intoxicating, it is the love. The love is “more delightful than wine.” That’s amazing. You see, his love is like fine wine. That’s why she wants to draw close. She then says it’s like a fragrance, “Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes.” Whatever this perfume is, it’s not Linx Africa! There is something better going on here.

Smells bring associations. Sometimes, you can smell certain perfumes and remember your mother. Certain smells bring something to mind. The smells of the seasons, for example when rain is coming, or when the hedges and flowers are in bloom, can bring to your mind remembrances. The smell here is amazing. But it’s not just a smell. Just like it wasn’t about the kisses, it was about love, so it’s not about the smell. “Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out.” The perfume is his name. That is what gets her excited.

In the Bible names represent things. It doesn’t happen so much now. Often people get names, for example, from a Disney film. But people still get given names with a meaning. Our youngest boy is called Seth Joshua. He is called Seth Joshua because there is an amazing man in Welsh history called Seth Joshua. When someone comes up to him and says, ‘What’s your name?’ He can say proudly, ‘Seth Joshua.’ I love his name because every time I hear it, I think of him but I also think of Seth Joshua. There’s a reason in the name.

In the Bible, names are often linked to character and will describe the character of the person. There is a name here that is like perfume. There is name here that is love. There is a name here that when you hear it, you want to draw closer. When people come and visit in the house, or when people come into the workplace, you hear a name and you either want to go and hide in the kitchen or you can’t wait to meet them, to sit, to listen, to see them. Certain names get us excited.

There is a name here that gets her excited. Who is he? He is the king. “Take me away with you – let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.” (Song of Songs 1:4). This is why she is so excited. She wants to draw near because she is loved, loved by the king. What we have in the Song of Songs is the ultimate fairy tale – being loved by the king. From Sleeping Beauty to the frog, from one of the Bridgeton girls to Meghan Merkle, there is a story that is deep in all of us, in all of culture, that we desire – to be loved. The Bible says it is an ache in all of us for something more, someone more – the king. So, she wants him to come and ultimately go into the chamber. She wants them to become an ‘us,’ to be married, to be together forever.

We have said the Bible starts with a wedding and it ends with a wedding. Have you ever thought about the centre of the Bible? The centre of the Bible, when we go from the Old Testament to the New Testament, is the arrival of the Bridegroom. In Matthew 9 and John 3, for example, Jesus refers to Himself as the Bridegroom. When you look at Matthew 22 and 25, Jesus says that the great day is going to be the wedding banquet in heaven. It’s all about this great romance and this great wedding. The King wants to be married to the church. We see in Revelation 19 wonderful words, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Revelation 19:6-8).

The Bible is all about consummation, all about this wedding feast. It’s amazing. It should affect us. Julian Hardyman, a minister, has written a wonderful book on Song of Songs (Jesus lover of my soul) and he says, “Christ is so infinitely sweet and beautiful and satisfying as to evoke a deep longing and a wild, mad desire. He wants us to love him with all the madness our souls are capable of.” If you ever met Julian Hardyman, he is not an over-the-top guy. He is very refrained. But yet, having read Song of Songs, reflecting on Christ’s love, he is able to write about a madness our souls are capable of. In Psalm 2 we are commanded to kiss the son. Hebrews invites us to draw near. Repeatedly in Scriptures we are encouraged to come under the shadow of His wings, to find rest in Christ, to let God sing over you and quiet you with His love.

Sometimes, we sing a hymn, ‘Jesus Lover of my soul.’ Is this your view of Jesus? That Jesus is the lover of our soul, who calls us to draw near, to know His name, and to desire to know him more. It’s wonderful.

We are all different. I know the singing was superb this evening. After two years of Covid, of singing out of tune on Zoom, to be amongst God’s people again and to sing and to hear singing is wonderful. Whilst we were singing, I was looking at the projected words on the wall. I didn’t turn around and seeing you singing, but I am sure some of you would have looked miserable. However, if I was able to see inside your heart, you would be jumping for joy. Some people get really excited, but they haven’t told their face. That’s fine. Other people might seem as if they need to calm down as they raise their hands exuberantly in worship. That’s fine. We are all different. We don’t have to show things in the same way. Very often, you find the true heart of someone in a prayer meeting.

The Lord has created you the way He has created you. You express yourself in the way you express yourself. Praise God. Don’t feel pressure to give a show or look like someone else. You are who God has made you to be. You can see that in marriages. Sometimes, you look at couples and think, ‘He’s not very happy.’ But he’s delighted. He just wouldn’t know how to show it. There’s a story about an old couple who went on holiday who heard a young couple talking on the table next to them. The young wife was telling her husband how much she loved him. The older wife turned to her husband and said, ‘You never tell me how much you love me. Why not?’ He replied, ‘Well, my dear, I told you that I loved you on the day that I married you. If it changes, I’ll let you know.’ It shows we’re all different.

The wonderful news for us is the King has come to us. The King is the one who initiates. She can only go to the King because the King has come to her. She can only ask the King to come to her because He has gone to her. This is so important to understand. We can love God because He first loved us. It’s always the best news of the gospel. It starts with this wedding, enjoying the Lord in the garden. It’s wonderful. But soon, we go our own way. The fall is horrendous.

Everything in the garden is perfect. God has given Adam everything he needed. Adam and Eve were there with the Lord, forever to enjoy. But yet, they wanted to put something else up on the pedestal. They didn’t want to get something by the Lord’s name, they wanted to get something of their own names, about each other, other things. Very quickly, the world goes from beauty to death. You get this beat of death: wars, killings, hatred, brothers falling out. All these terrible things. The world goes from bad to worse.

If you read the Bible for the first time, not knowing the whole story of the Bible, when you get to Noah and the flood, you kind of want to go, ‘That’s the end.’ But all through the Bible God keeps going, ‘Hold on.’ One of my favourite verses in the Bible is in Genesis, when you read, ‘And the Lord walked in the garden in the cool of the day.’ It’s a lovely verse. For years I thought, ‘Wasn’t life amazing before the Fall.’ Then you read the verse and you realise it’s after the Fall. Even after Adam and Eve had rebelled, the Lord walks and He comes to them. He talks with them, and He gives them clothes. He covers their shame. He makes them a promise. He talks about the serpent being crushed one day. Even after the flood there’s a rainbow, reminding us of His promise. All the way through the Bible, every time you go away from God He always comes up with ‘But.’ Even in the darkest passages of the Old Testament there is always hope.

There is fine print in the Old Testament. When you get a contract when you take out a mortgage, there is always the fine print. In the big words they tell you everything they are going to give you. But in the fine print they say, ‘But this is how we’re going to take your house.’ When I read the Old Testament, I find it completely the other way round. The big text is ‘You’ve gone away. You’re wayward.’ Look at Hosea, a classic passage where marriage is used as an illustration of Yahweh and Israel. You get all of this judgement. Then comes the fine print, ‘But yet I will take you out of the wilderness. But yet, I will come to you.’ The fine print of the gospel is grace.

The wonderful news, the story of the Bible is even though we reject God, in the New Testament the Bridegroom comes. The Lord Jesus comes into our mess, into all of our rebellion, to show us His love. Christ gave Himself for us because He loves us. It is the ultimate romance.

Friends, as you celebrate 200 years of faithful witness here, remember Jesus. Remember that He is the great lover of our souls, that He has given all for us. If we trust in Him, we can draw near to Him. If we trust in Him, we will know His name. John Newton wrote, ‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear.’ Why? Because when we hear His name we should want to draw near. We should, in the words of Psalm 2, want to kiss the son. We should want to know His love, hear His name, come close to Him.

For what is 200 years here? It’s 200 years of God’s faithfulness, the One who has given everything for you.

July 31st 2022: James Gleave

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/DiBCo9750as

Philippians 3:4b-21

This is a tremendously encouraging passage. We are going to look at the idea of pressing on, at the reasons why we can and should press on, both as an individual Christian in your own life and also as a group of Christians, as a church.

Paul has numerous reasons for writing this letter to the church in Philippi. Some of those are quite practical, some are a little bit concerning, as this young church begins to show signs of being vulnerable to this unity and to legalism. The reason I like for Paul’s writing of this letter the most, and that fits best with this morning’s message, is this: Paul’s writing was also an opportunity to encourage Christians to suffer bravely, to live in single-mindedness and to trust their lives to the Lord in all things and under all circumstances.

Before we jump into this passage, I want to share with you the reason for my desire to bring you a message of encouragement. I have been coming here, to Penuel, close to two decades, for many times. I have seen many changes. I have got to know you and share fellowship here with you in this historic building, on the beach and in some homes. It’s been limited to the times of year that we’ve come down as a family for a holiday. But over the last few years, through the wonders of technology, I have had new opportunity to see more of the work God is doing in this church. I want to share with you how much it uplifts my spirit, how much it encourages and inspires me to see what God is doing with you guys here in Roch: the youth work, Sunday ministry and other times of fellowship that you share together.  It is really amazing. Firstly, this morning, I want to give glory to God for what He is doing with you guys. I hope that you can join me as you reflect for a moment on the vitally important work that God has given you to do here, in Pembrokeshire.

God has even more to do with this church, in your community and in the wider area of Wales that you are connected to through your partnerships, and the groups of other churches that you have connections with. God has so much more that He wants to do – so many more people that He wants to reach with the gospel, and so many more opportunities for you to take.

Your opportunity, as Christians here in this community, is even bigger than the wonderful things God is already using you to accomplish. I want to encourage you to press on.

  1. The cost associated with pressing on.
  2. The crown. The reward we will receive as we do so.
  3. The command Paul gave the church in Philippi, and that he gives to you and I today.
  1. The cost.

The first thing Pauls tells us of the cost associated with pressing on is pursuing an increasingly Godly standard of living. It cost Paul his prestige (v4). Paul gives his credentials as a Jew, his resumé. Paul is a Jew if ever there was one: he was circumcised on the eighth day of his life, he was from the tribe of Benjamin. He calls himself a ‘Hebrew of Hebrews.’ He includes ‘Pharisee’ in the recent occupation section of this resumé. In his culture and in his circle of influence, Paul has that pure bred pedigree. As a result, he occupies a prestigious position within the Jewish community.

Some of you may well occupy prestigious positions, professionally or socially. Like Paul was able to do in his days as a Jew, you might be able to sit here this morning quite content with where you have found yourself in the world’s hierarchy or in the hierarchy of your friendship groups in your company or places that you find yourself.

Remember, Paul wrote about his desire to see the church at Philippi live in single-mindedness. What Paul is telling us about the prestige that he’s given up is that not only does he no longer derive confidence in his own resumé and in his pedigree and history, that whole way of life and thinking which sought self-promotion and prestige, is actually detrimental to his ability to live that single-minded life that he wants to see the church in Philippi live. It is in direct opposition to his calling and to our calling to live with 100% focus on Jesus Christ. We have to be ready to throw away the pursuit of worldly prestige and throw away the confidence which we often fall into deriving from it.

The second cost Paul outlines for us, that he has given up in order to press on and pursue Godly living, is his power. Paul’s role as a Pharisee will have come with the ability to influence and control the lives of those around him in his community, to direct the lives of the Jewish people. Even more than that, he has the power to negatively impact the lives of others, as he reminds us of his time spent persecuting the church (v6). But Paul gives up this power. This is not to be glossed over. We see in the world today the negative consequences that we can experience when people gain power and are unwilling to give it up, using it for the wrong purposes.

Power is addictive and intoxicating. It becomes very difficult to give up on. A fundamental fact of our relationship with God is that His omnipotence leaves no room for our potence. For us to press on successfully as Christians we must lay down our power in order to benefit fully from God’s. This is something that Paul has realised during his journey towards his faith. He wishes to encourage the church in Philippi, as well as you and I, today. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your ability to make decisions, or to control and influence, is a demonstration of strength. When it comes at the expense of your reliance on God’s power and strength, it becomes a weakness and a drag on our ability to press on.

Finally, Paul gives up his self-righteousness. That is something we all do when we become a Christian, we give up our self-righteousness. We accept our inability to chase down our own righteousness. This can be extremely liberating. But for some people it’s a huge challenge and a big stumbling block to overcome. Something to keep in mind when we are seeking to reach out to people is that not everyone is going to see this relinquishment of their ability to try and control their own destiny as a positive thing. Some people want that in their own hands. Let’s be sympathetic to others who struggle to let go of their self-righteousness.  

The other aspect of giving up our self-righteousness is that it makes it very difficult to be self-righteous. Yet, how many times do we find ourselves guilty of thinking, ‘We’re not as bad as that guy,’ or ‘This sin isn’t as bad as that sin.’ As easy as giving up our self-righteousness to make way for the righteousness of our sacrificial Saviour sounds, we find it quite difficult to fully implement in practice. But in order to press on we must forfeit our right to be judgemental and critical of others because we have to fully acknowledge our own shortcomings.

As we press on and seek to make ourselves increasingly available to God, we must completely surrender self-righteousness and all the behaviours it can give birth to in our lives. Paul sums up the cost of pressing on in chapter 3 verse 8, when he explains that he has lost all things for Jesus. Everything Paul has written down on his resumé he has had to discard and let go of in order to benefit from the resumé of Christ, our perfect and eternal Saviour.

As a result of Paul experiencing both the cost and the crown, we can learn that he isn’t really sentimental of all that he has had to give up. Instead, he describes his former way of life, and all it contained, to be garbage. He also says, in v12, that he is forgetting what is behind. In other words, his former way of life might as well not exist anymore. The lesson for us is that we cannot afford to hold onto our old way of living, not even a little bit. We must throw it all away.

  • The crown.

As humans we need motivation. We are often very used to comfort, and we have ample opportunity to default to the path of least resistance in many aspects of our lives. That’s a path where the concept of pressing on is totally alien.

The reward of a new righteousness. For many this morning, this is hopefully going to be a simple reminder of something which is an unending source of joy in your life. For some of you, this might still be a foreign concept. You might be wondering what having a righteousness really means. It is a gift from God (v9) and it is yours through faith. It is a ticket, a pass to an eternity with Jesus. As you shed your imperfect, flawed self-righteousness, you are given the benefits of Christ’s perfect righteousness, making you acceptable in the sight of a holy and just God.

We also have a new goal. Some speculate that some members of the Philippian church that Paul was writing to, had already begun to believe that they had achieved the goal of Christian perfection. They thought they had completely surrendered to God. This really is the crux of this morning’s message: never be satisfied with where you have arrived at as a Christian or as a church. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus encourages people to ‘be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ That is just one aspect of this new goal that we receive as Christians. It is something that requires a lifetime of pursuit. It is something we will never attain but something which gives our life new meaning.

There is work to do, there is more life to be lived, more goals to be obtained, more opportunities to rise to, more Godly missions to accept. I encourage you to accept the reward of having this new goal. It is your reason to get out of bed in the morning, your reason to move forward in life with incredible drive and focus, your reason to press on. God has called you and me heavenwards to receive the prize of His grace and mercy, His forgiveness and eternal life.

Whilst we are journeying through this life, let’s leave no stone unturned when it comes to pressing on towards this goal of Godly living, and the goal of people reached, and souls saved. What a privilege God gives you and me, such a glorious objective to strive for together. Along the way we pray that we become fully reliant on Him, on His righteousness and on His power.

In verse 20 Paul reminds the Philippian church and us today, that we are promised a new home. Our forever home, our citizenship, is in heaven. Something far greater is waiting for us. In John 14 Jesus says, “In My Father’s house there are many mansions.”

Paul encourages us to press on beyond this life to our true, forever home where we will be with Jesus. When we get there the job will be done. The outreach programmes and the kids’ clubs will cease and we will praise and worship our God together, free from pain, tiredness, stress and busyness. Until then, brothers and sisters, we must press on, knowing this gift of a true, forever home is waiting for you and for me.

Finally, on the crown, Paul says we will have a new body. Yet another reason for us to press on. We must look after our earthly bodies. The weariness we feel now will all pass away. One day we will shed these bodies for good. We will have the blessing of a transformed, imperishable body in heaven.

Press on towards God’s promised gifts of new righteousness, the new goal, the new home and the new body.

  • The command.

The command Paul gives to the church in Philippi, in verse 17, is the command that we can take on ourselves. Paul appears to undo some of the humility that he’s demonstrated earlier in the passage. He says, ‘join together in following my example.’ We need to understand the context that Paul gives this command in. Paul’s whole message, in all of his writings, is that he is pressing on towards Christ. In verse 10 he says he wants to know Christ and the power of His Resurrection and to participate in His sufferings, even becoming like Christ in his death. When Paul says to the church in Philippi, ‘Do what I do,’ he is simply saying, ‘Do what Jesus did.’

This idea of pressing on in this life doesn’t have an end in this life. The end of our pressing on comes when we arrive in heaven. It’s a relatively foreign concept in the context of our society and to many people. In our country we have a retirement age which we work towards. We plan for it and when it arrives, for some people that’s the cue for winding down and putting your feet up. There seems to be a desire to make progress and press on for a season in life. During this season we live with a certain intensity. The temptation for some people is they let go of the intensity. Paul’s command reminds us as Christians, that not only do we need to press on, continually pursuing God’s standards in the way that we live and in the way that we serve, but on top of that, as we grow and learn and get ever closer to the goal, our responsibility to live as an example to those around us also grows.

In summary, let us follow Paul’s example of paying the full cost associated with Godly living, shedding everything that hinders us from pressing on. Let us strive to become increasingly open, ready to be used by God, and ultimately to become the signpost for those around us, both non-Christians and Christians.

Here, at Penuel, God is using you. I believe He wants to do even more. I believe He wants you to press on for your own benefit and for the benefit of those you seek to serve. If you’ve been used by God in these past few years to drive this work in Penuel forward, please press on. If you’re maybe getting worn down by it, and there are days when you wonder if the work is still worth it, please press on. If you’re feeling encouraged by what God is doing in the way that I am, and rejoicing in the Lord, as Paul commands us to do in verse 1, that’s great. Use that as fuel and continue to press on.

If you’re someone who, perhaps, has been a bit more on the fringes, for whatever reason, (maybe Covid knocked you out of a rhythm and routine of service, maybe personal circumstances have overcome you, perhaps the costs associated with a greater pursuit of God’s desires in your life), please consider all that God has for you – that crown that is waiting for you – and press on. On the days when it seems that the plan might fail, take it to God in prayer. When necessary, tweak the approach but never change the goal. Continue to press on towards it.

I promise you today, through every up and down, through all the moments that the outreach feels a bit like trench warfare, when it becomes a battle of inches, it will be worth it, when in glory we’re all rejoicing together with new righteousness received, our new goal complete, our new home occupied, a new body to enjoy, surrounded by those God was able to reach through our faithful decision to press on. Praise God for all that He is using you to accomplish. Never forget that it is through Him and Him alone, that all you are involved with is possible.

July 12th 2022: John Funnel

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, please click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/VVWMtMjKF9s

Jonah 1:1-3

Who here has heard of the story of Jonah? After Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, Christmas and Easter, Jonah is probably the most well-known story in the Bible – the man swallowed by a whale. That’s the popular narrative. The story is a really important one. Because it is so popular, we gloss over the beauty of it. The story of Jonah gives us a lens through which we can all see all of redemptive history. That’s why it is such a beautiful book. In the story of Jonah we meet the character of God. The story is not necessarily about Jonah, but God. We see God is beautiful. We also come to learn something of ourselves in His beauty too.

Despite the notoriety of Jonah’s story, we know very little about this man. He was the son of Amittai. I 2 Kings chapter 14 we are told he was from a place called Gath-hepher, meaning ‘the wine press’ or ‘well.’ This is also believed to be the place where Jonah is buried. Gath-hepher is significant; it is a very small village on a rocky hill, just a few miles walk from Nazareth. So, it is a place where Jesus probably went to regularly as a boy and was taught about the story of Jonah and remembered it in His ministry. We know the story of Jonah clearly made an impact on Jesus because He mentions him.

The book of Jonah is very different; it is about the prophet rather than what the prophet said. The message actually comes in the life of the person, not necessarily his words. Jonah is also unique in that he is a prophet called to get up and go out. There is no option to work from home. He was told to get up and go – go out to work. The place where he was told to go was an absolute dump, a godless place – Nineveh. The prophet Nahum kindly writes a travel guide for us. He describes Nineveh as a bloody city, full of deceit, full of war, robberies, witchcraft, drunkenness, and oppression. It is essentially a society that exists without God. Would you want to go to that place? No.

Sometimes we are too harsh on Jonah. Imagine if you were called to the crack dens of Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff or Newport, or even the Lord calling you this morning to go to the Donbas, to witness on the front line against Russian military. Would you be in a rush to get going, to leave your comfortable beds in your lovely homes in Pembrokeshire? Would you be prepared to get up and go, to risk your life, to be with people you don’t know, who you don’t agree with, who do not like you. People who will no doubt be hostile, even violent towards you for bringing a message of truth to them. Would you get up and go? It’s tough.

Let me give a less extreme example. Imagine you have had an argument this week. You are in the right, they are in the wrong. You are angry. They are still being nasty to you. Would you go up and say sorry? Would you be the first to apologise for your part in the argument? We don’t like doing that, do we? The point I’m making is that we are all a bit like Jonah.

We all struggle to put self to death for the furthering of God’s kingdom. It’s hard. We all like to do what we like to do, what is easiest for us. We do not like to do what God tells us to do. Nobody here likes to love our enemies, do we? Every one of us is guilty of what Jonah is guilty of here. Lesson 1 pf Jonah – don’t be too harsh on Jonah. We’re all Jonah’s. Let’s get some acknowledgement of that shall we? Get your hands up if you think you’ve been a Jonah?

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil[a] has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:2). God speaks to Jonah with clear, specific instruction. He essentially says, ‘Leave your lovely, comfortable village. Leave your home, leave your friends, leave your family and go to the great city of Nineveh – the treacherous, hateful, godless town.

Jonah essentially says ‘no, absolutely not.’ Not only does he say no, he actually, proactively goes against God and goes in a different direction. In verse 3 we see he went to Joppa, 60 miles away. That’s like us getting up and walking to Aberystywth. He went to Joppa to get a ship to go to Tarshish, over 2,000 miles away! It’s like going to Birmingham Airport, then flying to Moscow, to get away.

Jonah really did not want to go to Nineveh. The length he went to, to get away from God’s calling on his life, is significant. It’s telling. That’s why it’s in the Bible. Jonah did not have to travel all that way to reject God’s call. He could have said ‘no’ from home. He didn’t have to travel. Jonah travelled all that way to get away from God altogether. That was his hope.

Tarshish, at this time, was very significant. It was the end of the known world at the time, you couldn’t go any further. As an old covenant Jew, Jonah’s relationship was built on blood and land. Jonah believed the further he got away from Israel, the further he got away from his land, the further he got away from God Himself and the further he could get away from the burden, the call to preach truth in Nineveh.

Jonah is running away from God, from the call of God’s grace. As Christians, we’ve all done that. We run from our burdens that God places on our hearts. We run from the people that cause us difficulties, who we should love and help all the more. We run away from our responsibilities to do what we want to do instead, so we can have an easy life. We run so far at times we think we have got away with it, that we have escaped God Himself. Do you know what always happens when we do that? We fall into sin. We fall into sin when we do a Jonah. When we sin, we think we have escaped God’s presence.

Sin – when we do something that we would never dream of doing before the throne room of God Himself. Sin is when we do something that we would never dream of doing sat here in the pews at church. Sin comes when we hide ourselves away, when we’re locked behind closed doors, where nobody can see us. We fulfil our lusts and desires, thinking we have got away with it. We think we have successfully hidden from God. But the reality is He is always watching.

He is always there. He is always with you by your side. He is watching, He is remembering everything you do and He is mourning over it. He grieves as you sin. That’s terrifying. Sin enters our life when we forget God is with us wherever we go. Sin comes when we think we are not in God’s presence. Sin comes when we think we’ve run to Tarshish. Sin comes when, as Christians, we forget that God lives in us. The scriptures say we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God is not going anywhere. We are Christians. Everywhere we go and everything we do in this life is theological. We are God’s love in action. You can run to Tarshish but He is still with you.  

What Jonah reminds us of here is that God is everywhere. He is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is Creator God. In Christ, He came in person. He entered into the fabric of time and space that He created, to become historic fact. He came to live in our brokenness, in the brokeness of places like Nineveh, in the brokenness of our hearts. He came to live in our fear. He came to live to experience heartache and pain, and loneliness. He came for you. He came to save your soul. He came to put your sin to death on the cross and then bury it. On the third day He rose again, giving us a fresh start in His Resurrection power. New life! Hallelujah! Liberty.  Freedom. Redemption from the pressures of this world, so we never have to run anywhere.

We have been liberated to walk with our God and answer His call. We have been freed to meet with Him daily, to know Him as a brother and a friend, as a King and as a Saviour. He is all of those things. Gracious, precious, God, Messiah. I love Him. Do you? He is with you wherever you go.  He is here, right now, rejoicing as His people gather in His name. Jesus is present. Hallelujah!

If you do not know Him and you want to know the joy that passes all understanding, to be part of His redemption plan, to hear His voice and be called and sent, then I pray that you will dive into the reality of His grace for you. Trust that on that cross, the historical event of the Crucifixion, He died for you. Receive Jesus as your Lord today and you can swim in His love. He is sovereign. He wants you. You can run away from all you want, but He is here calling you. He is here in Spirit, and He is here just for you. Amen.

July 10th 2022: Paul Daniel

Published on by Penuel Baptist RochLeave a comment

To watch this service, click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/3lyINvNoBtk

Colossians 1:1-23

Whilst on holiday, my family and I recently visited a cathedral. My children were shocked, especially when a chap started playing the organ. They had never seen or heard anything like it. The grand piano didn’t look special, but its volume and grandness made my children stand in awe. When we walked into the cathedral, the place was very different to going to church on a Sunday, where they run in, listen, go to Sunday School and have squash afterwards. Their experience was very different as they stood in awe, never having seen anything like this before.

Are you glad that you are here – because you stand in awe of the God who wants to speak to you, the God whose hands flung stars into space, the God who knows each and every one, who wants to meet with us? Is that your prayer this morning, your expectation? Are you really glad to be here because you want to meet with God?

Can you imagine the church at Colosse receiving this letter? What was it going to say? It starts off like this, “To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae,” (Colossians 1:2a There’s a church there being born because Epaphras has taken the gospel to them and they’ve come to put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, Paul writes this letter to the church and addresses them and says, “To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae,” (Colossians 1:2a). This tells us they are Christians, faithful brothers and sisters in Christ, and they’re in Colosse.

Here is a group of Christians, they’ve been saved by God, they’ve heard the gospel. They are in Christ, and they’re also in Colosse. They are in Christ but are also in Colosse, in the world, a fallen world. There is a great tension in the Christian life; we are in Christ but also in the world, a place we’re called to live. This great rescue brings across many challenges. The Christian life is not a walk in the park. You’ve got to go through the week but after all the battles done, you get to church on Sunday, to meet with God. It’s almost as if you’re being re-armed, fed, ready to go on. The tension of living in the ‘now and not yet.’ So, this morning, are you glad to be here? Do you want to meet with God? Do you want to stand in awe of what God’s word says? Will you be changed by it? God wants to prepare you for this week ahead.

We have been rescued from darkness, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,” (Colossians 1:13). What a profound verse. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness. Only God can do that. He has rescued you, brought you into the light, into the Kingdom, through the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Consider the cross. Consider what Jesus Christ has done. He came, was put on a cross. Darkness came over the land and He bore our sins so that we can be redeemed,  so that we could be saved. He’s done that because we can’t do that ourselves. Sinners can’t save themselves. That’s why Jesus Christ came into this world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Darkness leads to death, to judgement. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). The Bible reminds us that you are loved, that I am loved. We stand before a God who has loved us with an everlasting love. He has chosen us before the foundation of the world. He set His love upon you. He knows you. He has called you out of darkness. Wonderful! You didn’t want to be rescued. You didn’t want to choose Him. But He showed you mercy and compassion. You didn’t deserve to be rescued, but God doesn’t want anyone to perish.  He wants everyone to come to repentance.

People would rather say there’s no problem with the dominion of darkness because it means they’re in charge and can do whatever they want, when they want. The world says, ‘My freedom is what matters.’ The gospel is here because God wants us to reason with people. It’s not that we can pluck them out of darkness, but God wants us to reason with people. When we start reasoning with people, we see what it actually means to live in the dominion of darkness.

When you go and do things you think will make you happy, following your own rules, it doesn’t satisfy. Because it’s darkness, it’s difficult to know what’s right and what’s wrong. We need to pray for people, to pray for our world, to pray for our communities. When they’re stuck in the dominion of darkness they don’t know God. We need to pray for mercy. We need to pray for the work of God’s Spirit. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit would come and illuminate their hearts and their minds, so they begin to see God’s ways are His best ways.

My friends, do you find it comfortable talking to people about the gospel? Are you comfortable telling people about your experiences, about how you became a Christian, about the things you thought would satisfy you but they really didn’t? Are you willing to speak up? Are you willing to confront? Are you willing to have a gentle word, so that they really would be rescued from the dominion of darkness, brought into the kingdom of the Son He loves?

It’s a rescue. There’ a destination to the darkness. There is a darkness forever. We are reminded that there’s an eternity. Heaven is real. Hell is real. We have this wonderful opportunity to keep on going, witnessing to our friends and family, inviting them, reasoning with them about the hope that they too can have, coming out of the darkness into the kingdom of the Son.

On the front page of most of the newspapers this morning you’ll see an article. You’ll see a lovely picture and it says something like this, ‘The star of Centre Court.’ The star of centre court is Elena Rybakina. Born in Russia, then changed nationality to Kazakhstan. However, her picture is not on the cover of any newspaper. It’s not a picture of the winner of Wimbledon women’s final. It’s a picture of Kate Middleton. It’s political. The politics of what goes on the front page of the newspapers. It’s almost as if they’re trying to avoid the truth. Are we going to do that as God’s people or will we love people and do the most we can, in the power of the Spirit?

In prayer and petition, will we speak the truth? We know what it’s like to be plucked out of the dominion of darkness by God’s mercy and grace. We know the joy of being brought into the light, standing in awe of God, who wants to know us. We’ve been rescued from the dominion of darkness. Don’t we want others to be rescued from the dominion of darkness? Let’s pray for them. Let’s pray for God’s Spirit to come in power. Let’s plead with God, as maybe others too pleaded for our hearts, that God would do a work and He would bring that work to completion.

Reconciliation from God. “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,” (Colossians 1:21-22). Amazing! ‘Once you were’ – that’s the gospel. You were nowhere near God – alienated from God. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, it doesn’t make you any more special. But look what He has done: He has reconciled you, by Christ’s physical body, through death, to present you holy. Now, because of what He’s done, you’re seen as holy. You have the joy of having your sins cleansed, to have the guilt removed. You know that you stand right with God. God doesn’t count your sin against you. You now have a new position before God. You are seen as His child. You belong to Him. You begin to come to know God.

Once you’ve experienced His grace, everything changes. You want to open your Bibles, you want to know more about it. You want to search, to ask questions that you’ve never asked before because you belong to Him. You want to know what His purposes are, what His plans are. Then you come under His care, the author of creation.

Knowing all of this, do you love God’s rescue plan? Do you hate the darkness, knowing that is where you’ve been plucked from? You know sin is lethal, bringing death and destruction. Do you hate the darkness? As a child of God, nothing will separate you from the love of God. As you hear God’s word, you pray God’s Spirit will make you more like Him each day.

There is something profound in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Think about this rescue and reconciliation; how God in His wisdom, planned before the foundation of the world to send His Son into the world, planned for you to be chosen, sitting here listening to the gospel, planned for you to one day be with God in glory.

Think of this grand master plan of rescue and reconciliation, of being God’s people. Paul, with all the letters he wrote, and with all the doctrinal elements, with all the grand statements, what does he say about this great rescue plan? Just three words, “And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15b). Isn’t that staggering! It’s almost an understatement. ‘And be thankful.’

Are you truly glad to be here? That you have been rescued from darkness? You were not looking for a rescue, were it not for the grace and the mercy of God. He chose you. He saved you. He’s cleansed your sin. He’s removed your sin as far as the east is from the west. Are you ready today, despite all the scars of last week, to get going again? Are you ready this week to listen to God’s word and see your need to be more like Jesus? God loves you and wants the best for you. This week, will you go out in God’s strength and witness to others, praying for the work of the Spirit and their lives too, that they too will be rescued, that they too will find a relationship with God?